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A lesbian is a woman who is sexually attracted to other women. The word can name the person (she is a lesbian) or describe her (a lesbian couple). It is the ordinary, respectful English word for this.
A lesbian is a woman who is sexually attracted to other womenlesbian是對其他女性有性吸引力的女性。 The word can name the person (she is a lesbian)這個詞可以指稱一個人（she is a lesbian）， or describe her (a lesbian couple)也可以形容她（a lesbian couple）。 It is the ordinary, respectful English word for this這是講這件事最普通、有禮貌的英文詞。
Some people still throw it as an insult; that use is , and it does not change what the word means. Gay is wider — it can mean men or women — while lesbian is specifically about women.
Some people still throw it as an insult還是有人會把它當侮辱的話丟出來； that use is unkind那樣用是不友善的， and it does not change what the word means但這並不會改變這個詞本身的意思。 Gay is wider範圍比較廣—— it can mean men or women可以指男性也可以指女性—— while lesbian is specifically about women而lesbian特指女性。
Though actually the history is older than the modern use. It comes from Latin Lesbiana, from the Greek island of Lesbos (Λέσβος) plus the Latin adjective ending -iana. People linked it to , a poet from Lesbos who wrote love poems to women; from her English also gets and sapphist. This sense of the word may have been borrowed from, or shaped by, German lesbisch, which was already in medical writing in the 1830s.
Though actually不過其實， the history is older than the modern use它的歷史比現代用法要古老。 It comes from Latin Lesbiana它來自拉丁文Lesbiana， from the Greek island of Lesbos (Λέσβος)源自希臘島嶼Lesbos（Λέσβος） plus the Latin adjective ending -iana加上拉丁文形容詞字尾-iana。 People linked it to Sappho大家把它跟Sappho連在一起， a poet from Lesbos who wrote love poems to women她是Lesbos島上一位寫情詩給女性的詩人； from her English also gets sapphic and sapphist英文也從她那裡衍生出sapphic和sapphist這兩個詞。 This sense of the word may have been borrowed from, or shaped by, German lesbisch這個意思可能是借自，或受了德文lesbisch的影響， which was already in medical writing in the 1830s這個德文詞在1830年代已經出現在醫學文獻裡。
A capital-L Lesbian can still, in old or careful writing, mean a person from that island, but almost nobody uses it that way now.
A capital-L Lesbian大寫L開頭的Lesbian can still, in old or careful writing在老式或講究的文章裡還是可以 mean a person from that island指那座島上的人， but almost nobody uses it that way now但現在幾乎沒有人這樣用了。
組成From Latin Lesbiana, from Ancient Greek Λέσβος (Lesbos) + Latin -iana. Named with reference to Sappho of Lesbos. The modern sense may have been borrowed from, or influenced by, German lesbisch.
同家族的字
- lesbianismsame stem plus -ism: the person or adjective becomes the name of the orientation
- Lesbosthe Greek island the word is taken from
- sapphicfrom Sappho of Lesbos, the same poet this word points to
原始詞典資料17 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Lesbiannoun
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A native or inhabitant of Lesbos.
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human-scienceslinguisticssciencesThe variety of Aeolic Greek spoken on Lesbos from about 800 to 300 b.c., best known from the writings of Sappho and Alcaeus of Mytilene.
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historicalA 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.
- […] but the best Greek Wines, the Chian, Lesbian, Coan, &c. were equally prepared in the same manner; and we have reason to think that the same process was more generally used, and in preparing some of the best and most generous Italian wines.
Lesbianadj
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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.
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human-scienceslinguisticssciencesOf or pertaining to the Lesbian variety of Aeolic Greek.
- 3
archaicAmatory; erotic.
- Lesbian novels
lesbianadj/ˈlɛz.bi.ən/
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Homosexual, gay; preferring exclusively women as romantic or sexual partners.
- Lesbian fans of the show were rooting for Jane and Amanda to get together.
- 2
Homosexual, gay; preferring exclusively women as romantic or sexual partners.
- 3
Between two or more women; homosexual, gay.
- a lesbian relationship / marriage / kiss
- The so-termed Lesbian love is a vice of a still more hideous and degrading nature than pederasty.
- 4
Intended for lesbians.
- We're going to a lesbian bar tonight.
- 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.
lesbiannoun/ˈlɛz.bi.ən/
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A homosexual woman, a woman 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.
- Another Spanish-speaking respondent said that she does not identify as a lesbian because that is a term for women who like women, and as she does not like women, and so she cannot be a lesbian.
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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).
- 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 […]
lesbianverb/ˈlɛz.bi.ən/
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informalTo (cause to) take part in lesbian sex, or other lesbian activity.
- That's the way I want to go – Lesbianed to death.
- Surveillance by other inmates creates yet another dimension of power and control. Angry with Chapman and Vause, Dogget tells Healy that she has witnessed the two “lesbianing” in the shower, […]
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。