Karen

karen kåren English Etymology 1 From en da Karen, a vernacular form of Catherine that emerged in medieval Denmark. The term later acquired a distinct contemporary social meaning. Its association with a middle-aged woman is often attributed to the name’s relative popularity among baby boomer and Generation X cohorts. The term’s derogatory usage was subsequently popularized through African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). en https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53588201 BBC BBC News 2020-07-31 2020-07-30 Nagesh Ashitha What exactly is a 'Karen' and where did the meme come from? Although its exact origins are uncertain, the meme became popular a few years ago as a way for people of colour, particularly black Americans, to satirise the class-based and racially charged hostility they often face. https://web.archive.org/web/20260917131711/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53588201 17 September 2026 Alternative forms en Caren Caron Caryn Karin Karyn Pronunciation en /ˈkæɹən/ non-Mary-marry-merry en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Karen.wav Southern England en /ˈkɛɹən/ Mary-marry-merry en en-us-Karen.mp3 GA en æɹən ɛɹən ɛə(ɹ)n 2 en Kar en en caron caring weak vowel,g-dropping cairn carn some American accents Proper noun en female Danish. 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. en Tom Perkins ‘A sense of betrayal’: liberal dismay as Muslim-led US city bans Pride flags w:The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/17/hamtramck-michigan-muslim-council-lgbtq-pride-flags-banned 2023-06-17 “There’s a sense of betrayal,” said the former Hamtramck mayor Karen Majewski, who is Polish American. https://web.archive.org/web/20230810124130/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/17/hamtramck-michigan-muslim-council-lgbtq-pride-flags-banned 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: fr Karin, fr Carin, fr Carine, fr Karine, fr Karyne Greek: el Κάρεν Hebrew: he קֶרֶן f Kéren Marathi: mr कॅरेन f Portuguese: pt Karen f Russian: ru Ка́рен f Kárɛn Noun en derogatory en slang originally _ AAVE A middle-aged white woman who demonstrates a pronounced sense of white privilege and entitlement, often grounded in prejudice toward racial minorities, and who frequently targets or antagonizes individuals facing greater systemic barriers or requiring substantially greater effort to attain comparable opportunities. en anti-Karen en Darren en White Woman Is Fired After Calling Police on Black Man in Central Park The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/nyregion/amy-cooper-dog-central-park.html w:Sarah Maslin Nir w:Christian Cooper May 26, 2020 “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. https://web.archive.org/web/20260202161733/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/nyregion/amy-cooper-dog-central-park.html 2 February 2026 en Julia Carrie Wong http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/karen-race-white-women-black-americans-racism The year of Karen: how a meme changed the way Americans talked about racism 2020-12-27 The Guardian 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 history, she is Carolyn Bryant, the adult white woman whose complaint about a 14-year-old Emmett Till led to his torture and murder at the hands of racist white adults. In literature, she is Scarlett O’Hara sending her husband out to join a KKK lynching party or Mayella Ewell testifying under oath that a Black man who had helped her had raped her. In 2020, she is simply Karen. https://web.archive.org/web/20261021004429/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/karen-race-white-women-black-americans-racism 21 October 2026 en-GB Alaina Demopoulos Jeremy ‘I’m annoying, to some degree’: New York’s dog owners debate Chloë Sevigny’s anti-pup take The Guardian 2024-02-02 https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/feb/02/chloe-sevigny-dogs-new-york 0261-3077 “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. https://web.archive.org/web/20261020145618/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/feb/02/chloe-sevigny-dogs-new-york 20 October 2026 en-GB Zach Vasquez Saturday Night Live: Charli xcx has fun in otherwise middle of the road episode w:The Guardian 2024-11-17 https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/nov/17/saturday-night-live-charli-xcx 0261-3077 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. https://web.archive.org/web/20261017223403/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/nov/17/saturday-night-live-charli-xcx 17 October 2026 en by extension Any person, especially female, exhibiting an exaggerated sense of entitlement. en 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 en terms derived from Karen (entitled woman or person) Derived terms en anti-Karen Karen haircut Karenhood Karenicity Karenism Karenlike karenwebberite Qaren<qq:a female QAnon supporter> Space Karen Translations stereotypical woman Cebuano: ceb Linda Chinese: Mandarin: cmn 大媽 French: fr Karen f Malay: ms mak cik kiah Polish: pl Karyna f, pl Grażyna f Russian: ru хабалка f khabalka, ru тупая пизда f tupaya pizda Thai: th มนุษย์ป้า See also en gammon Miss Ann Becky References Etymology 2 en male name From en xpr 𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 krny Kārēn, from en ira-old *kar-ina-. The Armenian name is from en hy Կարեն, from the same Parthian name. Alternative forms en Garen from Western Armenian en Kārēn from Middle Iranian en Qarin, en Qārin from Arabic en Karin, en Kārin from New Iranian Proper noun en historical One of the seven great Parthian feudal families. en hy Կարեն male given name. Synonyms en Karen-Pahlav, en Karen-Pahlaw Translations one of the seven great Parthian feudal families Armenian: Old Armenian: xcl Կարենի պահլաւ Greek: Ancient Greek: grc Καρανος Latin: la Carenes Parthian: xpr 𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 krny Kārēn Persian: fa قارن qâran, fa کارن kâren Middle Persian: pal 𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭭𐭩 kʾlny Armenian male given name Armenian: hy Կարեն Old Armenian: xcl Կարէն Persian: fa کارن kâren Russian: ru Каре́н References http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/karin Etymology 3 From en my ကရင်, of disputed origin. Pronunciation en /kəˈɹɛn/ en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Karen2.wav Southern England en Karen (ethnolinguistic group) pronunciation.mp3 CA en /kəˈɹɪ̟n/ pin-pen en ɛn 2 en Ka ren Noun s * en ethnic A member of a diverse ethnic group originating in Myanmar and Thailand. en Kayin en 1968 Daniel George Edward Hall D. G. E. Hall Burma w:Encyclopedia Britannica https://books.google.com/books?id=rt5MAQAAIAAJ 4 68-10064 1036882 442 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. en 2011 Terry Miller; Sean Williams The Garland Handbook of Southeast Asian Music 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: my ကရင် Chinese: Mandarin: cmn 克倫人, cmn 克伦人 kèlúnrén Karen person, cmn 克倫族, cmn 克伦族 kèlúnzú Karen people Finnish: fi kareni French: fr karen Karen: S'gaw Karen: ksw ကညီ Mon: mnw ကရေင် Thai: th กะเหรี่ยง Proper noun A group of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by people of the Karen ethnic group, also called Karenic. en Kayin state (administrative division) of Myanmar. Translations group of languages Chinese: Mandarin: cmn 克倫語 kèlúnyǔ Finnish: fi kareni French: fr karen Karen: S'gaw Karen: ksw ကညီ Derived terms en Black Karen en Karenic en Red Karen en S'gaw Karen en 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 en aeknr naker knare ranke nerka Krane anker en heteronyms unisex given names en Myanmar Languages People Cebuano Etymology ceb :bor en:Karen<ety:uder<da:->> 2 1 Proper noun ceb proper noun ceb female English < Danish < Ancient Greek 2012 — Suarez, Lloyd, Bahag ang Ikog sa Huwes (04 April), Super Hirit, Opinion, Cebu Daily News ceb Samtang ang lain nakong anak nga si Karen intresado sa swimming ug gymnastics aron mas sexy siyang tan-awon inig June. ceb 14 February 2017 Anadia, Sanden J https://www.philstar.com/banat/kalingawan/2017/02/14/1671967/love-story Love Story 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. https://web.archive.org/web/20250124045943/https://www.philstar.com/banat/kalingawan/2017/02/14/1671967/love-story 24 January 2025 ceb 19 February 2018 https://rmn.ph/dalagang-gihulga-nagpakitabang/ Dalagang Gihulga, Nagpakitabang 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. https://web.archive.org/web/20250124084257/https://rmn.ph/dalagang-gihulga-nagpakitabang/ 24 January 2025 2019 — Miss International 2018: Laing Kadaugan sa mga Pinoy (28 January), SuperBalita ceb 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. Danish Etymology A medieval variant of da Katharina Catherine. Proper noun da proper noun da female Descendants 1 en Karen 1 de Karen 1 is Karen 1 no Karen References 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 fi proper noun form fi Kare gen s (the given name) Anagrams fi aeknr rekan German Alternative forms de Caren Etymology de :bor da:Karen de da Karen. Pronunciation de De-Karen.ogg <<Germany>> (<<Berlin>>) Proper noun de proper noun de female a much less popular Karin Related terms de Katharina Icelandic Pronunciation Proper noun @@ is female Declension f.acc+datu Sometimes also Karen in accusative and dative. Luxembourgish Noun lb noun form lb Kar cart Norwegian Proper noun no proper noun no female of Danish origin