Queerness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state or quality of being unconventional or odd in behavior or appearance ; an identity relating to sexual or gender expressions that differ from traditional heterosexual or cisgender norms
2. The characteristic of deviating from what is usual or expected in a way that may seem strange or unfamiliar ; a self-identification or community concept for those with non-heterosexual or non-cisgender orientations
3. A condition of standing apart from standard or typical categories, often implying peculiarity or distinctiveness ; relating to identities or experiences that challenge conventional sexual or gender classifications

Etymology: Queerness is a plain formation: the adjective "queer" with the suffix "-ness", which turns an adjective into a noun for the quality or state it describes. The suffix comes down through Old English "-nes" and Middle English "-nesse" from a Germanic root shared with many other English nouns of quality, so the new word is simply "the state of being queer." The adjective behind it has a longer and more tangled road. "Queer" traces back through Middle Low German "quer" and Old High German "twërh" to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "across" or "oblique," so its earliest sense was physical: something askew, slanting, or turned sideways. That sense of "off to one side" gradually widened into "odd" and "strange," and only much later took on its sexual and gender meanings.

Synonyms: strangeness, oddity, peculiarity, eccentricity, unusualness

Antonyms: normality, ordinariness