quean

== English == === Alternative forms === quine (Scotland) quene, queane (obsolete) === Etymology === From Middle English quene (“young, robust woman”), from Old English cwene (“woman, female serf”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwenā, from Proto-Germanic *kwenǭ (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn (“woman”). Doublet of gyne and queen. Cognate with Dutch kween (“a barren woman, a barren cow”), Low German quene (“barren cow, heifer”), German Kone (“wife”), Swedish kvinna (“woman”), Icelandic kona (“woman”), Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌽𐍉 (qinō, “woman”), 𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃 (qēns, “wife”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kwiːn/ Rhymes: -iːn Homophone: queen === Noun === quean (plural queans) (archaic) A woman, now especially an impudent or disreputable woman; a prostitute. [from 10th c.] (Scotland) A young woman, a girl; a daughter. [from 15th c.] ==== Derived terms ==== === Anagrams === quena == Scots == === Alternative forms === quine (Doric) === Etymology === From Middle English quene, from Old English cwene, from Proto-West Germanic *kwenā, from Proto-Germanic *kwenǭ (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn (“woman”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kwin/, /kwen/, /kwəin/ === Noun === quean (plural queans) young woman, girl daughter maidservant female sweetheart (Shetland) A ram incapable of procreation, a hermaphrodite sheep.