queer

[kweer] /kwɪər/
adjective, queerer, queerest.
1.
strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; singular:
a queer notion of justice.
2.
of a questionable nature or character; suspicious; shady:
Something queer about the language of the prospectus kept investors away.
3.
not feeling physically right or well; giddy, faint, or qualmish:
to feel queer.
4.
mentally unbalanced or deranged.
5.
Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
  1. homosexual.
  2. of or noting a person who does not conform to a conventional sexual or gender identity.
  3. effeminate; unmanly.
6.
Slang. bad, worthless, or counterfeit.
verb (used with object)
7.
to spoil; ruin.
8.
to put (a person) in a hopeless or disadvantageous situation as to success, favor, etc.
9.
to jeopardize.
noun
10.
Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
  1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a homosexual, especially a male homosexual.
  2. a contemptuous term used to refer to a person who does not conform to a conventional sexual or gender identity, as a bisexual.
11.
Slang. counterfeit money.
Idioms
12.
queer the pitch, British Informal. to spoil the chances of success.
Origin
1500-10; perhaps < German quer oblique, cross, adverse
Related forms
queerly, adverb
queerness, noun
Synonyms
1. unconventional, curious, freakish, eccentric, weird. See strange.
Antonyms
1. ordinary.
Usage note
Since the early 20th century, queer has had the meaning “homosexual,” and for much of the time has been used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. The term has more recently come to include those persons whose sexuality or gender identity falls outside the heterosexual mainstream. Since the 1980s, queer has increasingly been adopted as a preferred term by young or radical homosexuals and in the academic community: queer bars and nightclubs; scholars of queer studies. In the mainstream homosexual community, however, gay and lesbian remain the terms of choice.
British Dictionary definitions for queer

queer

/kwɪə/
adjective
1.
differing from the normal or usual in a way regarded as odd or strange
2.
suspicious, dubious, or shady
3.
faint, giddy, or queasy
4.
(informal, taboo) homosexual
5.
(informal) odd or unbalanced mentally; eccentric or slightly mad
6.
(slang) worthless or counterfeit
noun
7.
(informal, taboo) a homosexual, usually a male
verb (transitive) (informal)
8.
to spoil or thwart (esp in the phrase queer someone's pitch)
9.
to put in a difficult or dangerous position
Derived Forms
queerish, adjective
queerly, adverb
queerness, noun
Usage note
Although the term queer meaning homosexual is still considered highly offensive when used by non-homosexuals, it is often used by homosexuals themselves as a positive term, as in queer politics, queer cinema
Word Origin
C16: perhaps from German quer oblique, ultimately from Old High German twērh
Word Origin and History for queer
adj.

c.1500, "strange, peculiar, eccentric," from Scottish, perhaps from Low German (Brunswick dialect) queer "oblique, off-center," related to German quer "oblique, perverse, odd," from Old High German twerh "oblique," from PIE root *terkw- "to turn, twist, wind" (see thwart (adv.)).

Sense of "homosexual" first recorded 1922; the noun in this sense is 1935, from the adjective. Related: Queerly. Queer studies as an academic discipline attested from 1994.

v.

"to spoil, ruin," 1812, from queer (adj.). Related: Queered; queering. Earlier it meant "to puzzle, ridicule, cheat" (1790). To queer the pitch (1846) is in reference to the patter of an itinerant tradesman or showman (see pitch (n.1)).

These wanderers, and those who are still seen occasionally in the back streets of the metropolis, are said to 'go a-pitching ;' the spot they select for their performance is their 'pitch,' and any interruption of their feats, such as an accident, or the interference of a policeman, is said to 'queer the pitch,'--in other words, to spoil it. [Thomas Frost, "Circus Life and Circus Celebrities," London, 1875]

Slang definitions & phrases for queer

queer

adjective
  1. Counterfeit (1740+)
  2. Homosexual; camp, gay •In the early 1990s queer was adopted as a nonpejorative designation by some homosexuals, in the spirit of ''gay pride'': Some girls said that I was queer (1922+)
noun
  1. (also the queer)Counterfeit money: eagle-eyed concessionaires always on the lookout for the queer (Underworld 1900s+); (1812+)
  2. (also queerie): a lot of queeries in the State Department (1932+)
verb

To spoil; ruin; goof up: Food is what queered the party (late 1700s+ British); (1812+)