Quean

Word of the Day for Saturday, November 5, 2011 Quean \kween\, noun: 1. An overly forward, impudent woman; shrew; hussy. 2. A prostitute. 3. British Dialect. A girl or young woman, especially a robust one. I answer thee, thou art a beggar, a quean, and a bawd. -- Thomas Middleton, Five Plays Had I had my own will, I would have had her to Bridewell, to flog the wild blood out of her—a cutty quean, to think of wearing the breeches, and not so much as married yet! -- Sir Walter Scott, Waverley Novels Quean, predictably, is rooted in the same Old English word that queen comes from, the word cwen which meant woman With thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/