'queer-themed' originates from modern English compounding of the adjective 'queer' and the past-participial adjective-forming element 'themed' (from the verb 'to theme').

'queer' entered English in the 16th century (possibly influenced by German 'quer' meaning 'oblique' or 'perverse') and developed senses of 'strange' and later of sexual nonconformity; 'theme' comes from Greek 'thema' via Latin/Old French and produced the verb 'to theme' (mid-20th century) from which the adjective-forming 'themed' arose; these elements were compounded in late 20th/early 21st-century English to form 'queer-themed.'

Initially, 'queer' meant 'strange' or 'odd'; over time it was applied to sexual nonconformity and has been reclaimed as an identity term for LGBTQ+ people. 'Theme' originally meant 'something set down' (Greek) and later 'subject of a work'; combined, the modern compound means 'having a queer subject or theme.'