lesbian

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛz.bɪ.ən/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛz.bi.ən/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lesb‧i‧an

Adjective

lesbian (comparative more lesbian, superlative most lesbian)

1. (of a woman) Homosexual, gay; preferring exclusively women as romantic or sexual partners.

   Lesbian fans of the show were rooting for Jane and Amanda to get together.

   1. (of a woman, loosely) Preferring primarily women as romantic or sexual partners.
2. (of a romantic or sexual act or relationship) Between two or more women; homosexual, gay.

   a lesbian relationship / marriage / kiss

   • 1855 [1854], Charles Hempel, transl., Homœopathic guide in all diseases of the Urinary and Sexual Organs, Philadelphia: Rademacher & Sheek, translation of Der homöopathische Rathgeber: in allen Krankheiten der Geschlechts- und Harnwerkzeuge by Wilhelm Gollmann, page 201:

     The so-termed Lesbian love is a vice of a still more hideous and degrading nature than pederasty.

   • 2011, Michael Bruce, Robert M. Stewart, College Sex - Philosophy for Everyone, →ISBN, page 32:

     […] Madonna's infamous nationally televised lesbian kiss with Britney Spears […]

3. (especially of an institution or group) Intended for lesbians.

   We're going to a lesbian bar tonight.

   • 2000, Bonnie Zimmerman, Encyclopedia of lesbian and gay histories and cultures, volume 1, page 135:

     Some lesbians also felt comfortable in the entertainment clubs in the black section of the city; these clubs were not lesbian but were lesbian friendly.

   • 2008, Carl Abbott, How cities won the West: four centuries of urban change, page 283:

     Openly gay poets such as Allen Ginsberg were prominent among the beats, and many North Beach bars were gay and lesbian as well as bohemian.

4. (now rare) Alternative letter-case form of Lesbian (“of or pertaining to the island of Lesbos”).

Noun

lesbian (plural lesbians)

1. A gay woman, one who is mostly or exclusively sexually or romantically attracted to other women.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:gay woman

   • 1904, Jacobus X, Crossways of Sex: A Study in Eroto-pathology, volume 1, page 2:

     There have also been women who loved other women. These are the Lesbians or Tribades.

   • 2020, Ana Patrícia Hilário, Fábio Rafael Augusto, Practical and Ethical Dilemmas in Researching Sensitive Topics with Populations Considered Vulnerable, page 91:

     Another Spanish-speaking respondent said that she does not identify as a lesbian because that is a term for women who like women, and as she does not like women, and so she cannot be a lesbian.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:lesbian.
2. (uncommon) A female animal that performs courtship, pairing or mating behavior with other female animals.
   • 1979, Terry Hekker, Ever Since Adam and Eve, New York: Morrow:

     There was one recently that determined on an island off California 14 percent of the female sea gulls were lesbians (and we know that kind of thing would never go among Nantucket sea gulls).

   • 2014, George H Harrison, Birds Do It, Too: The Amazing Sex Life of Birds, Willow Creek Press, →ISBN:

     The only between this pair and others in the community is that they are among the 8 to 14 percent of the residents that are lesbians. After building their nest, the pair, two female western gulls, customarily produce twice as many eggs […]

3. (now rare) Alternative letter-case form of Lesbian (“native or inhabitant of Lesbos.”)

Verb

lesbian (third-person singular simple present lesbians, present participle lesbianing, simple past and past participle lesbianed)

1. (informal, nonstandard, transitive, intransitive) To (cause to) take part in lesbian sex, or other lesbian activity.
   • 2014, Ian Collin, Angels of The North, page 107:

     That's the way I want to go – Lesbianed to death.

   • 2016, April Kalogeropoulos Householder, Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, Feminist Perspectives on Orange Is the New Black, page 85:

     Surveillance by other inmates creates yet another dimension of power and control. Angry with Chapman and Vause, Dogget tells Healy that she has witnessed the two “lesbianing” in the shower, […]

References

Anagrams

• Nieblas, ansible, bilanes

Adjective

lesbian (not comparable)

1. lesbian

Etymology

Borrowed from French lesbien.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /les.biˈan/

Adjective

lesbian m or n (feminine singular lesbiană, masculine plural lesbieni, feminine and neuter plural lesbiene)

1. lesbian

See also

• lesbiană