queer (English)

Where does "queer" come from?

The English noun 'queer' is first attested around 1510 in Scots[1]. It is usually traced back through Middle Low German and German forms like 'quer', which meant 'diagonal' or 'oblique'[1], deriving from Old Saxon 'thwerh' and Proto-West Germanic '*þwerh'[1]. These trace further to Proto-Germanic '*þwerhaz' and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European '*terkʷ-', meaning 'to turn, twist, wind'[1]. However, the Oxford English Dictionary has argued against this specific descent due to semantic differences and the late date of appearance in Scots[1]. The word later acquired its modern association with gay people in the late 1800s[1].

Open questions

The derivation from Germanic oblique terms is debated by the Oxford English Dictionary due to semantic gaps and chronological concerns. [1]
The ultimate connection to Proto-Indo-European involves a reconstructed metathesis from Pre-Germanic. [3]

Full etymology tree

queer (English), 'A person who is or appears homosexual, or who has homosexual qualities.'
- borrowed queer (Middle Low German)
  - inherited twerh (Old High German)
    - inherited twer (Middle High German)
      - inherited *þwerh (Proto-West Germanic), 'transverse, crooked'
        inherited thwerh (Old Saxon), 'contrary, against'
        inherited *þwerhaz (Proto-Germanic), 'cross, adverse'
        derived *terkʷ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to turn, spin'

Ancestors

*terkʷ- (Proto-Indo-European)
thwerh (Old Saxon)
*þwerh (Proto-West Germanic)
*þwerhaz (Proto-Germanic)

Cognates and doublets

quer (German)
torqueo (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

baby queer (English)
gear queer (English)
queerdo (English)
Queer Street (English)
shove the queer (English)
smear the queer (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

More words starting with Q

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris