different between lesbian vs nonlesbian

English

Etymology

From Latin Lesbiana, from Ancient Greek ?????? (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, General American) IPA^(key): /?l?zbi.?n/

Adjective

lesbian (comparative more lesbian, superlative most lesbian)

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

2. (of a romantic or sexual act or relationship) Between two or more women; homosexual, gay.
   • 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.
   • 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.

Synonyms

• (of a woman: preferring women partners): dyke (usually offensive, but reclaimed by some lesbians), gay (preferred by some lesbians), homosexual (not specific to women)
• (between women; pertaining to women's homosexuality): dyke (usually offensive, but reclaimed by some lesbians), gay (preferred by some lesbians), homosexual (not specific to women)

Translations

Noun

lesbian (plural lesbians)

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

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:lesbian.
2. (uncommon) A homosexual female animal.
   • 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 […]

Usage notes

• Many dictionaries define lesbian simply as a woman who is sexually (or romantically) attracted to other women. It especially refers to one who is attracted mostly or exclusively to other women. It is sometimes used in a way that includes other (e.g. bisexual) women who love women, or certain non-binary people.

Synonyms

• Sapphic, sapphist, gayelle
• (offensive) Amy-John, beaver eater, beanflicker, boondagger, bulldiker, bulldyker, carpet muncher, clam smacker, crack snacker, cunt-lapper, donut bumper, dyke, lesbianist, lezzer, lezzie, lezzo, rug muncher, scissor sister, todger dodger, vagitarian, clitorist
• See also Thesaurus:female homosexual

Hypernyms

• LGBT
• gay
• homosexual
• queer

Hyponyms

• korephile

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Hindi: ???????? (lesbiyan)
• ? Urdu: ??????

Translations

See also

• (sexual orientations) sexual orientation; asexual (-ity, ace), bisexual (-ity, bi), demisexual (-ity, demi), graysexual (-ity), heterosexual (-ity, straight), homosexual (-ity, gay, lesbian), omnisexual (-ity), pansexual (-ity, pan), plurisexual (-ity), polysexual (-ity), robosexual (-ity), sapiosexual (-ity), androsexual (-ity), gynesexual (-ity) ^{(Category: en:Sexual orientations)}

References

Anagrams

• Nieblas, ansible, balines, bilanes

Interlingua

Adjective

lesbian (not comparable)

1. lesbian

Hypernyms

• homosexual

Derived terms

• lesbiana

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French lesbien.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /les.bi?an/

Adjective

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

1. lesbian

Declension

See also

• lesbian?

English

Etymology

non- +? lesbian

Adjective

nonlesbian (not comparable)

1. Not lesbian.

Noun

nonlesbian (plural nonlesbians)

1. One who is not a lesbian.