Where does “queer” come from?
Queer comes from Middle Low German queer, meaning "athwart" or "across."
queer (English): Weird, odd or different; whimsical; Slightly...
Definitions
- Weird, odd or different; whimsical; Slightly...
Ancestry of “queer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | queer | oblique, off-center |
| 2 | Old Saxon | thwerh | contrary, against; bent, crooked |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | *þwerh | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | þwerhaz | cross, adverse |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | þerh- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | terkʷ- | to turn, spin |
Words derived from “queer”