What is the meaning of lesbian

lesbiannoun & adjective

There are six meanings listed in OED's entry for the word lesbian. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

About 9occurrences per million words in modern written English

11
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Earliest known use

mid s

The earliest known use of the word lesbian is in the mid s.

OED's earliest evidence for lesbian is from , in a translation by T. Nicolls.

lesbian is of multiple origins. Either (i) a borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Or (ii) a borrowing from Greek, combined with an English element.

Etymons:LatinLesbius, ‑ansuffix; GreekΛέσβιος, ‑ansuffix.

Nearby entries

  1. lerer, n.a–
  2. lering, n–
  3. lerion, n.?a
  4. lerky, n–
  5. lerm, v.a
  6. Lernaean, adj. & n–
  7. Lernaeoid, adj–
  8. lerot, n–
  9. lerp, n–
  10. lerret, n–
  11. lesbian, n. & adj–
  12. lesbian fe

    Meaning of lesbian in English

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    LGBTQIA Resource Center Glossary

    GLOSSARY

    The terms and definitions below are always evolving, changing and often imply different things to different people. They are provided below as a starting point for discussion and understanding. This Glossary has been collectively built and created by the staff members of the LGBTQIA Resource Center since the early s.

    These are not universal definitions. This glossary is provided to help give others a more thorough but not entirely comprehensive understanding of the significance of these terms. You may even consider asking someone what they mean when they use a term, especially when they use it to verb their identity. Ultimately it is most important that each individual define themselves for themselves and therefore also define a term for themselves.

     

    “If I didn't explain myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” -Audre Lorde

    This glossary contains terms, such as ableism and disability, that may not be considered directly related to identities of sexuality or gender. T

    What Does It Mean to Be a Lesbian?

    Lesbian is the first letter of the queer alphabet soup. We've all heard LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus.), but what does lesbian actually mean? People used to define lesbians as "women loving women," but this definition is outdated and doesn't take into account the many transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming humans who still proudly verb themselves lesbians. I am one of these people. 

    Recently, my girlfriend was with a friend. While with them, she referred to me as a lesbian. This person was surprised—many transmasculine people balk at the term "lesbian," and I have known some to be offended by it. Sarah reassured this person that lesbian is a term I am comfortable with and a term I proudly use to describe myself. She was right.

    The Meaning of Lesbian Is Not Black and White

    When I first came out, I came out as both bisexual and lesbian. I identified as a miss who loved other women (I was assigned female at birth and lived as a female for 32 years). I thought lesbianism was as simple as women loving wom