lesbian
C1Meanings
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1
adj
Homosexual, gay; preferring exclusively women as romantic or sexual partners.
Lesbian fans of the show were rooting for Jane and Amanda to get together.
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2
adj
Between two or more women; homosexual, gay.
a lesbian relationship / marriage / kiss
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3
adj
Intended for lesbians.
We're going to a lesbian bar tonight.
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4
noun
A homosexual woman, one who is exclusively sexually or romantically attracted to other women.
There have also been women who loved other women. These are the Lesbians or Tribades.
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5
noun
A female animal that performs courtship, pairing or mating behavior with other female animals.
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).
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6
verb
To (cause to) take part in lesbian sex, or other lesbian activity.
That's the way I want to go – Lesbianed to death.
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7
noun
A sweet, mild wine made on Lesbos in ancient times.
Our Saviour in the gospel preferreth old wine before new; & Aristotle liketh better of the wine of Lesbos, the the^([sic]) wine of Rhodes; he affirmeth both to be good, but the Lesbian the more pleasant, alluding vnder that parable to the successour of his schoole, and noting his choise rather of Theophrastus borne at Lesbos, then Menedemus at Rhodes.
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8
adj
Of or pertaining to the island of Lesbos.
Within twenty-four hours of quitting the security of a Lesbian port, all the contrarieties I had experienced were to be exceeded by the horrors of a tremendous hurricane.
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.
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