Where does “queer” come from?

queer (Middle Low German) comes 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 (Middle Low German): oblique, off-center

Definitions

  1. oblique, off-center

Ancestry of “queer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Saxonthwerhcontrary, against; bent, crooked
2Proto-Germanic*þwerh—
3Proto-Germanicþwerhazcross, adverse
4Proto-Germanicþerh-—
5Proto-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 →