Well attestedNamed from the place
lesbian
adjective · first attested 19th century
The word comes from a Greek island in the Aegean.
Relating to women who are attracted to women.
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 19th century
- Part of speech
- adjective
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Lesbos
- In English
lesbian
Sappho, who wrote about desire between women, lived on Lesbos in the seventh century BCE. English formed the adjective from the island's name.
Greece
All 29 entries 28 more words from Greece
marathonThe long race is named for a plain in Attica.MarathoncurrantThe baking fruit is a worn-down word for Corinth.CorinthmagnetThe lodestone is named for Magnesia.MagnesiaacademyEvery academy is named for a grove outside Athens.AkademeialaconicA tight-lipped style is named for Sparta’s region.SpartaOlympicThe games are named for a sanctuary, not for Mount Olympus.OlympiaatticThe room under the roof is named for the region around Athens.AtticaBoeotianAn insult preserved from one Greek region's rivalry with another.Boeotia