queer^*kwɪər(adj.; v.; n.)queer•er, queer•est

1. (adj.)strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; eccentric.

2. of a questionable nature or character; suspicious; shady:

   something queer in the wording of the document.

3. not physically right or well; giddy, faint, or qualmish.

4. mentally unbalanced or deranged.

5. Slang: Usu. Disparaging and Offensive. homosexual. effeminate.

   Category: Psychiatry, Status (usage)

6. Slang. bad, worthless, or counterfeit.

   Category: Status (usage)

7. (v.t.)to spoil; ruin.

8. to put (a person) in a disadvantageous situation as to success, favor, etc.

9. (n.)Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive.(a term used to refer to a homosexual, esp. a male.)

   Category: Psychiatry, Status (usage)

^* Usage: queer has been used as an adjective and noun meaning respectively “homosexual” and “a homosexual” since the 1920s, and for much of the time has been used in a disparaging manner. Since about 1990 the word has increasingly been adopted as a preferred term by young or radical homosexuals and in the academic community. In the mainstream homosexual community, however, gay and lesbian remain the terms of choice.

Origin of queer:

1500–10; perh. < G quer oblique, cross, adverse

queer′ness(n.)