quean

A young woman in a village is called a quean by the gossiping neighbors.

Definition

1. Noun (archaic):
   • An impudent or ill-behaved woman: In historical usage, "quean" refers to a woman considered bold, rude, or morally loose.
   • A prostitute: In older contexts, it was used as a derogatory term for a woman who engages in promiscuous or commercial sexual activity.
   • A young woman (Scottish dialect): In Scottish English, "quean" can simply mean a girl or young woman, without negative connotation.

Usage Examples

• (An ill-behaved woman.)
• (A prostitute.)
• (A young woman, in a neutral or affectionate sense.)

Advanced Usage

• "quean" as a historical insult: In Early Modern English literature, "quean" was often paired with "queen" as a pun or contrast, highlighting social or moral status.

  • Shakespeare used "quean" to denote a woman of low character in his plays. (A derogatory term for a disreputable woman.)

• "quean" in Scottish poetry: The word appears in works by Robert Burns and other Scottish writers to refer to a young woman.

  • Burns wrote of a "quean" in his poem to celebrate a lass. (A young woman, used affectionately.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quean (n) has no common modern variants, but see queen (n) for a contrasting term.
• Queanish (adj, obsolete): resembling a quean; impudent or lewd.
  • His queanish behavior shocked the court. (Behavior like a quean.)

Synonyms

• Hussy: a bold or immoral woman (archaic).
• Strumpet: a prostitute (archaic).
• Lass: a young woman (Scottish, neutral).
• Wench: a girl or young woman (archaic, sometimes derogatory).

Idioms

• "quean and queen": An old phrase contrasting a woman of low status (quean) with one of high status (queen), often used in proverbs.
  • Better a quean than a queen in name only. (A saying about virtue versus title.)