Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A woman whose sexual orientation is to women.
- adj. Of, relating to, or being a lesbian. See Usage Note at gay.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Of or pertaining to the island of Lesbos in the Ægean sea, which belonged in ancient times, together with the adjoining part of the coast of Asia Minor, to the district called Æolis, and was the home of a famous school of lyric poets, including Alcæus, Sappho, and others. From the reputed character of the inhabitants and the tone of their poetry, Lesbian is often used with the implied sense of ‘amatory’ or ‘erotic.’
- n. A native or an inhabitant of Lesbos.
Wiktionary
- adj. of a woman Homosexual; preferring female romantic or sexual partners.
- adj. Homosexual, specifically between two women.
- adj. Intended for lesbians.
- n. A homosexual female, a woman who is sexually or romantically attracted to other women.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of or pertaining to the island anciently called Lesbos, now Mitylene, in the Grecian Archipelago.
- adj. archaic Amatory; erotic; -- in allusion to the reputed sensuality of the Lesbian people and literature.
- adj. homosexual; -- applied to female homosexuals.
- n. a female homosexual.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a female homosexual
- n. a resident of Lesbos
- adj. of or relating to or characterized by homosexual relations between woman
Etymologies
- From Latin Lesbiana, from Ancient Greek Λέσβος (Lesbos) + Latin adjective suffix -iana; by reference to Sappho of Lesbos (whence also sapphist), known for her sentimental poems about women. (Wiktionary)
- From the putative homosexuality of Sappho, lyric poet of Lesbos. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“His uncle gave him some silver and a letter of introduction, and sent him off to visit the philosopher Pherecydes, on the nearby island of Lesbos, the island from which the term lesbian is derived.”
“This was a jarring moment; the word lesbian had never been used before in a presidential debate.”
“Three residents of Lesbos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, whose love poems inspired the term lesbian, filed suit last month, contending that their identity was insulted by the use of the word in reference to gay women, but the court said that the word didn't define the identity of Lesbos residents, and so could be used legitimately by gay groups in Greece and abroad.”
“A: The term "lesbian" might be on the endangered species list now, but it has always had significance for me.”
“I think one of the most frustrating things about being a lesbian in our society is that the term lesbian is synonymous with porn.”
“All you saw was the word 'lesbian', and you ran for the hills.”
The Huffington Post: John Shore: A Christian Comes Out In a Letter, For Worse And For Better
“In the early part of this decade the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and LGBT activists at StopDrLaura. com petitioned advertisers and studio executives to make sure "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger's dangerous, homophobic rhetoric, in which she called lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people "destructive, disordered, unhealthy" and a "biological error," did not remain on television.”
The Huffington Post: Rashad Robinson: 'Dr. Laura' Is No Free Speech Victim
“I've identified with this term lesbian for so long ..”
“The name "lesbian" comes from the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea where in antiquity the women were said to be homosexual.”
Wired: Gayired.com - Gay OnLine Community for Entertainment and Daily News
“VIEW FAVORITES yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'Greeks from island of Lesbos take gay group to court over use of "lesbian"'; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'Three homphobes from Lesbos, home of the ancient poet Sappho who praised love between women, have taken a human rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name.”
OpEdNews - Quicklink: Greeks from island of Lesbos take gay group to court over use of "lesbian"
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘lesbian’.
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Very Silly Words
A list of very silly sounding words, as well as words that are fun to say
badot, gardyloo, dingbat, gaffer, kine, haberdashery, forsooth, whey-faced, hoddypeak, brouhaha, widdershins, decemnovenarianize and 115 more...
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Tip-Top Toponymic
Place names that have entered general speech. Toponyms that interest me in other ways are on Place Names Of Distinction
hamburger, wiener, finlandisation, vernissage, hackney, venetians, bohemian, anti-macassar, berliner, cravat, calico, serendipity and 113 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
thunderfuck, incredible, merp, sara, flopparoo, smother, fugly, buer, plum, canny, nefelibata, cuntbucket and 2455 more... -
Samme's Words
soliloquy, meander, creativity, magic, discovery, happiness, empowerment, abundance, [magnificent], iridescent, artistic, magical and 694 more...
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Names of People/Animals Real/Fiction ...
dickensian, wagnerian, daliesque, ghandian, kafkaesque, faulknerian, jungian, freudian, elizabethan, charlemagne, shakespearian, chekovian and 467 more...
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sputnik
canoodle, span, hasten, discombobulate, sputnik, clod, encrusted, spit-shine, zeitgeist, landslide, laid, cherish and 351 more...
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kevincooper's Words
prosopopeia, lisle, magisterial, zeitgeist, zeugma, bloviate, apocryphal, bon mot, cacophony, euphony, brigandier, micturition and 313 more...
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words I have an irrational and burnin...
celesbian, crouch, perez hilton, slop, lotus boob, anal fissure, eat out, crotch, sewage, backwash, vomit, pus and 100 more...
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lucidityprevails's Words
lucidity, journalistic, truthiness, foolhardy, egotism, lesbian, orgasmic, activism, moonglow, voodoo, conquer, demolish and 534 more...
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Ladies' Night
girl, lady, madame, miss, missy, woman, dame, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother and 50 more...
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GLBT
lesbian, transgender, bisexual, gay, dyke, fag, faggot, homo, queen, queer, pouf, gender rights and 17 more...
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nelsara's Words
popular, culture, pop, erudite, intelligent, gender, urban, media, film, television, university, college and 55 more...
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Queer Words
As many queer related words as I can come up with ^_^
faggot, fag, dyke, gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, transgender, gender queer, queer, bi, homosexual and 13 more...
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Sex
Words pertaining to sex.
homoerotic, autoerotic, sadism, masochism, sadomasochism, lesbian, gay, queer, orgasmic, orgasm, fornicate, fornication and 16 more...
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GGS DDU
stumble upon, day trader, hug, tightly, tight, sleep tight, lesbian, gay, homosexual, brokeback mountain, cv, résumé and 50 more...
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goodasyou's Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for lesbian.
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