Queerest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The most extreme form of nonconformity or strangeness The ultimate manifestation of uniqueness that challenges societal norms The highest level of eccentricity or deviation from expected behavior or characteristics
2. Being the most unusual or bizarre in appearance, behavior, or character
3. Exhibiting the highest degree of oddness that stands out noticeably from what is typical

Etymology: The superlative "queerest" sits at the end of a chain that has been bending its meaning for centuries. "Queer" was first recorded around 1510, and at first it appears in Scots, not standard English. The most widely accepted guess links it to a Middle Low German word meaning "oblique" or "off-centre," close to the German "quer," meaning "diagonal," which in turn goes back to an ancient root meaning "to turn, twist, or wind." The Latin "torqueo," "I twist," is a distant relative. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, argues against this link, pointing to both the difference in meaning and the Scots dating, so the origin remains uncertain. Starting from a sense of something being crooked or askew, "queer" came to mean strange or out of the ordinary, and the superlative "queerest" picks out whatever is the most peculiar of all. The word's most significant later shift came in the late 1800s, when it began to be used to describe gay people, a sense that eventually overshadowed its older meanings for many speakers.

Synonyms: strangest, most unusual, most peculiar

Antonyms: normal, ordinary, usual