lesbian

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a female homosexual
  2. noun a resident of Lesbos
  3. adjective of or relating to or characterized by homosexual relations between woman

Etymology

From Latin Lesbiana, from Ancient Greek Λέσβος (Lésbos) + Latin adjective suffix -iana; by reference to Sappho of Lesbos (whence also sapphist, sapphic), known for her sentimental poems about women. This sense of the word may have been borrowed from, or influenced by, the German cognate lesbisch, where it is found in medical literature from the 1830s.

In classic literature

Synonyms

tribade, gay woman

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