quine [to rhyme with ‘fine’], queen, quean noun a girl or young woman, used mostly in North East Scotland and Tayside: The gaffer didnae bother himsel at the chiels and the quines having a carry-on in the evening as long as they did their share during the day. 15-. etymology: Scots; Older Scots qwen ‘a girl, lass’ Middle English quene, Old English cwene ‘woman, serf, prostitute’; compare Old High German quina, Old Norse kvenna- ‘woman, female’; attested by SR |