Karen

See also: karen and kåren

English

Etymology 1

From Danish Karen, a vernacular form of Catherine that arose in medieval Denmark. The sense "middle-aged woman" comes from the popularity of the name among baby boomers and Gen-Xers. The derogatory usage was popularized via African-American Vernacular English.

Alternative forms

• Caren, Caron, Caryn, Karin, Karyn

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkæɹən/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkæɹən/, /ˈkɛɹən/

  • Audio (General American):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æɹən, -ɛɹən, -ɛə(ɹ)n
• Homophone: caron
• Homophone: caring (weak vowel merger, g-dropping)
• Homophones: cairn, carn (some American accents)

Proper noun

Karen

1. A female given name from Ancient Greek.
   • 1878 Celia Thaxter, Drift-Weed, Houghton, Osgood,1878, page 28 ("Karen"):

     Left you a lover in that far land, / O Karen sad, that you pine so long! / Would I could unravel and understand / That sorrowful, sweet Norwegian song!

   • 1918 Cecily Ullman Sidgwick, Karen, W.Collins, 1918, page 12:

     I was not called Karen after Hans Andersen's dancing girl, but after a Danish friend of my mother's who married an Englishman and was my godmother. So much for our family affairs.

   • 2023 June 17, Tom Perkins, “‘A sense of betrayal’: liberal dismay as Muslim-led US city bans Pride flags”, in The Guardian‎^[2], archived from the original on 10 August 2023:

     “There’s a sense of betrayal,” said the former Hamtramck mayor Karen Majewski, who is Polish American.

Usage notes

• First taken up as a given name in the US, and popular in the English-speaking world from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Translations

female given name

• French: Karin (fr), Carin (fr), Carine (fr), Karine (fr), Karyne (fr)
• Greek: Κάρεν (el) (Káren)
• Hebrew: קֶרֶן (he) f (Kéren)
• Marathi: कॅरेन f (kĕren)
• Portuguese: Karen f
• Russian: Ка́рен (ru) f (Kárɛn)

Noun

Karen (plural Karens)

1. (slang, derogatory, originally African-American Vernacular) A middle-aged white woman who exhibits a strong sense of white privilege and entitlement—often rooted in racism against minority races—and frequently targets or antagonizes individuals who face greater societal challenges or must work significantly harder than she.

   Antonym: anti-Karen

   Coordinate term: Darren

   • 2020 May 26, Sarah Maslin Nir, quoting Christian Cooper, “White Woman Is Fired After Calling Police on Black Man in Central Park”, in The New York Times‎^[3]:

     “I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence,” he wrote. “That’s when I started video recording with my iPhone, and when her inner Karen fully emerged and took a dark turn,” he said, using the name that has become slang for an entitled white woman.

   • 2020 December 27, Julia Carrie Wong, “The year of Karen: how a meme changed the way Americans talked about racism”, in The Guardian‎^[4]:

     It was through that performance that Amy Cooper took on the mantle of an American archetype: the white woman who weaponizes her vulnerability to exact violence upon a Black man. […] In 2020, she is simply Karen.

   • 2024 February 2, Alaina Demopoulos, quoting Jeremy, “‘I’m annoying, to some degree’: New York’s dog owners debate Chloë Sevigny’s anti-pup take”, in The Guardian‎^[5], →ISSN:

     “If I lived Chloe’s life, where she was walking around with other wealthy people basically being upper-class Karens having a fit when their dogs aren’t allowed at yoga, then I might understand,” he said.

   • 2024 November 17, Zach Vasquez, “Saturday Night Live: Charli xcx has fun in otherwise middle of the road episode”, in The Guardian‎^[6], →ISSN:

     He plays a suburban homeowner who loves nothing more than to snitch on his fellow whites, calling the cops on any Caucasian who steps foot on his lawn, be they old lady, a girl scout, or Colin Jost. Charlie xcx gets in on the action as his proud Karen of a wife.

2. (by extension, derogatory) Any person, especially female, exhibiting an exaggerated sense of entitlement.

   This Karen threatened to get me fired if I didn't give her a free meal.

   • 2021 Adam Korson as Phil Orley in "Ft. Ghost Child", episode five of SurrealEstate

     The organization wasn't meeting my needs, so I became a total Karen and asked to see the manager. He wasn't available so I took my business elsewhere.

Derived terms

terms derived from Karen (entitled woman or person)

• anti-Karen
• e-Karen
• Karen haircut
• Karenhood
• Karenicity
• Karenism
• Qaren (a female QAnon supporter)
• Space Karen (pejorative nickname for Elon Musk)

Translations

stereotypical woman

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大媽 / 大妈 (zh) (dàmā)

• French: Karen (fr) f
• Malay: mak cik kiah
• Polish: Karyna (pl) f
• Russian: хабалка (ru) f (khabalka), тупая пизда (ru) f (tupaya pizda)
• Thai: มนุษย์ป้า (th) (má-nút-bpâa)

See also

• gammon
• Miss Ann

Etymology 2

From Parthian 𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 (krny /⁠Kārēn⁠/), from Old Iranian. The Armenian name is from Armenian Կարեն (Karen), from the same Parthian name.

Alternative forms

• Garen (from Western Armenian)
• Kārēn (from Middle Iranian)
• Qarin, Qārin (from Arabic)
• Karin, Kārin (from New Iranian)

Proper noun

Karen

1. (historical) One of the seven great Parthian feudal families.
2. A transliteration of the Armenian male given name Կարեն (Karen).

Synonyms

• Karen-Pahlav, Karen-Pahlaw

Translations

one of the seven great Parthian feudal families

• Armenian:

  Old Armenian: Կարենի պահլաւ (Kareni pahlaw)

• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: Καρανος (Karanos)

• Latin: Carenes
• Parthian: 𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 (krny /⁠Kārēn⁠/)
• Persian: قارن (fa) (qâran), کارن (fa) (kâren)

  Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭭𐭩 (kʾlny)

Armenian male given name

• Armenian: Կարեն (Karen)

  Old Armenian: Կարէն (Karēn)

• Persian: کارن (fa) (kâren)
• Russian: Каре́н (ru) (Karén)

References

• http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/karin

Etymology 3

From Burmese ကရင် (ka.rang), of disputed origin.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kəˈɹɛn/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

  • Audio (Canada):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

Karen (plural Karens or Karen)

2. A member of a diverse ethnic group originating in Myanmar and Thailand.

   Synonym: Kayin

   • 1968, Daniel George Edward Hall, “Burma”, in Encyclopedia Britannica‎^[7], volume 4, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 442, column 2:

     U Nu's government was Socialist with a program of nationalization. But it had to fight for survival against almost universal disorder complicated by a Communist rebellion, a Karen rising, which was far more serious, and, in 1950, the arrival from Yünnan of General Li Mi's Kuomintang division after its rout by the Chinese Communists.

   • 2011, Terry Miller, Sean Williams, The Garland Handbook of Southeast Asian Music, page 303:

     There are more than a hundred such groups, including the Karen of Thailand and Burma; the Kachin in Burma; the Akha, the Lahu, and the Lisu in Thailand; the Hmong, the Kmhmu, and the Yao in Laos; and the Nùng and the Lati in Vietnam.

Translations

member of an ethnic group

• Burmese: ကရင် (my) (ka.rang)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 克倫人 / 克伦人 (zh) (kèlúnrén), 克伦人 (zh) (kèlúnrén) (Karen person), 克倫族 / 克伦族 (kèlúnzú), 克伦族 (kèlúnzú) (Karen people)

• Finnish: kareni
• French: karen (fr)
• Karen:

  S'gaw Karen: ကညီ (ka nyaw)

• Mon: ကရေင် (mnw)
• Thai: กะเหรี่ยง (th) (gà-rìiang)

Proper noun

Karen

1. A group of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by people of the Karen ethnic group, also called Karenic.
2. Former name of Kayin (“state (administrative division) of Myanmar”).

Translations

group of languages

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 克倫語 / 克伦语 (kèlúnyǔ)

• Finnish: kareni
• French: karen (fr)
• Karen:

  S'gaw Karen: ကညီ (ka nyaw)

Derived terms

• Black Karen
• Karenic
• Red Karen
• S'gaw Karen
• White Karen

References

• Ethnologue report on the Karen languages
• Nick Cheesman (2002) Seeing 'Karen' in the Union of Myanmar, Asian Ethnicity, 3:2, 202, DOI:10.1080/14631360220132736

Anagrams

• naker, knare, ranke, nerka, Krane, anker

Cebuano

Etymology

From English Karen, from Danish.

Proper noun

Karen

1. a female given name from English [in turn from Danish, in turn from Ancient Greek]
   • 2012 — Suarez, Lloyd, Bahag ang Ikog sa Huwes (04 April), Super Hirit, Opinion, Cebu Daily News

     Samtang ang lain nakong anak nga si Karen intresado sa swimming ug gymnastics aron mas sexy siyang tan-awon inig June.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2017 February 14, Anadia, Sanden J, “Love Story”, in Banat News:

     Maayong hapon sa Banat News readers. Ako diay si Karen, 18 years old ko karon ug naa unta koy i-share nga story bahin nako ug sa akong ex- boyfriend. Sukad nga nag-eskwela ko og college sa usa ka university, naila-ila nako ang cute kaayo nga guy nga si Stephen.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2018 February 19, “Dalagang Gihulga, Nagpakitabang”, in RMN News:

     Matud ni Karen Agustin, 22 anyos, dalaga nagpuyo sa San Nicolas Buhangin sugod siya nakadawat og hulga gikan sa usa ka Precious Malapit nga taga Asuncion Davao Del Norte niadto pang Pebrero 12.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2019 — Miss International 2018: Laing Kadaugan sa mga Pinoy (28 January), SuperBalita

     Mikulit na sab kasaysayan sa beauty pageant ang Filipina-Aussie nga si Karen Gallman human sa iyang kadaugan isip labing unang Pinay nga nakoronahan nga Miss Intercontinental 2018.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Danish

Etymology

A medieval variant of Katharina (“Catherine”).

Proper noun

Karen

1. a female given name

Descendants

• → English: Karen
• → German: Karen
• → Icelandic: Karen
• → Norwegian: Karen

References

• [8] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 83 320 females with the given name Karen have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1910s. Accessed on 19 May 2011.

Finnish

Proper noun

Karen

1. genitive singular of Kare (the given name)

Anagrams

• rekan

German

Alternative forms

• Caren

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish Karen.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Proper noun

Karen

1. a female given name, a much less popular variant of Karin

Related terms

• Katharina

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʰaːrɛ(ː)n/

Proper noun

Karen f (proper noun, genitive singular Karenar)

1. a female given name

Declension

Declension of Karen (sg-only feminine)

indefinite singular
nominative	Karen
accusative	Karenu
dative	Karenu
genitive	Karenar

Sometimes also Karen in accusative and dative.

Luxembourgish

Noun

Karen

1. plural of Kar (“cart”)

Norwegian

Proper noun

Karen

1. a female given name of Danish origin