Where does “queer” come from?

queer (Danish) comes from English queer, from Middle Low German queer, from Old Saxon thwerh, from Proto-Germanic *þwerh, from Proto-Germanic þwerhaz, from Proto-Germanic þerh-, from Proto-Indo-European terkʷ- — to turn, spin.

queer (Danish): queer not confirming to conventional sexual or gender norms

Definitions

  1. queer not confirming to conventional sexual or gender norms

Ancestry of “queer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishqueerWeird, odd or different; whimsical; Slightly...
2Middle Low Germanqueeroblique, off-center
3Old Saxonthwerhcontrary, against; bent, crooked
4Proto-Germanic*þwerh—
5Proto-Germanicþwerhazcross, adverse
6Proto-Germanicþerh-—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanterkʷ-to turn, spin

Words derived from “queer”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European terkʷ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic þerh- →Every word from Proto-Germanic þwerhaz →