queen
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: kwēn
ipa: /kwiːn/
ipa: [kʰw̥iːn]
rhymes: -iːn
homophone: quean
Forms: form: queens
form: queene
form: quene
form: queyne
Etymology: From Middle English quene, queen, cwen, from Old English cwēn (“queen”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷénh₂s (“woman”).
Cognate with Scots queen, wheen (“queen”), Old Saxon quān ("wife"; > Middle Low German quene (“elderly woman”)), Dutch kween (“woman past child-bearing age”), Swedish kvinna (“woman”), Norwegian kvinne (“woman”), Danish kvinde (“woman”), Icelandic kvon (“wife”), Gothic 𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃 (qēns, “wife”), Norwegian dialectal kvån (“wife”). Related to and possibly merged with and/or absorbed some senses of English quean, from Middle English quene, from Old English cwene (“woman; female serf, quean”), see quean. Generally eclipsed non-native Middle English regina (“queen”), borrowed from Latin rēgīna (“queen”) (see Modern English Regina). Doublet of quean and gyne.
In reference to insects, by analogy with the obsolete term king, which it took over from starting in the 1600s, when they were discovered to be female.
Senses: examples: text: The divorced king was looking for a new queen.
text: The king doth keepe his Reuels here to night. Take heede the Queene come not within his ſight.
ref: c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
synonyms: queen consort
Regina
coordinate_terms: emperor
empress
king
prince
princess
hypernyms: royal
holonyms: royal family
glosses: The wife, consort, or widow of a king.
examples: text: But our mercifull Queene Elizabeth hath not burned the popiſh prieſtes on the alters where they committed idolatrie in ſaying of Maſſe, and worſhipped a piece of breade for the bodie of Chriſte (which ſhee might haue done if ſhee would) and yet you count not her for a godly and mercifull Queene.
ref: 1582, Thomas Lupton, The Christian Against the Jesuite, London, retrieved 14 Jan 2022, page 50v:
text: In 1952, at the last accession, there were only eight members of the new entity taking shape in the outline of the British Empire. The Queen was the head of state in seven of them, and she was proclaimed Head of the Commonwealth to accommodate India’s lone status as a republic.
ref: 2017 March 17, Sam Knight, “‘London Bridge Is Down’: The Secret Plan for the Days After the Queen’s Death”, in The Guardian, London, retrieved 16 Jan 2022:
synonyms: queen regnant
Regina
hypernyms: monarch
royal
sovereign
holonyms: royal family
coordinate_terms: emperor
empress
king
prince
princess
glosses: A female monarch.
examples: text: […] and yet I will not ſay but amongſt duſt there is Pearle found, and in hard rockes Dyamonds of great value, and ſo amongſt many women there are ſome good, as that gracious and glorious Queene of all woman kinde the Virgin Mary the mother of al bliſſe, what wun her honour, but an humble minde and her paines and loue vnto our Sauiour Chriſt.
ref: 1620, Thomas Tell-Troth [pseudonym of Joseph Swetnam], The Araignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward, and Unconstant Women: Or the Vanitie of Them, Choose You Whether, London, published 1807, retrieved 14 Jan 2022:
topics: Christianity
synonyms: goddess
advocatrix
Blessed Virgin
Blessed Virgin Mary
Christotokos
lady
Madonna
Mother of God
Mother of Mercy
Our Lady
Our Lady of Sorrows
Queen of Heaven
Saint Mary
Star of the Sea
Theotokos
Virgin Mary
glosses: A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
The Virgin Mary (especially in formulations such as Queen of Heaven, Queen of Glory).
examples: text: Always look after that girl, doc. She's a queen!
ref: 1915 October, Willa Sibert Cather, chapter XIX, in The Song of the Lark, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company […], →OCLC, part I (Friends of Childhood), page 149:
synonyms: goddess
glosses: A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
An excellent woman.
examples: text: But now I was the Lord / Of this faire manſion,maſter of my ſeruants, / Queene ore my ſelfe : and euen now,but now.
ref: c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 175:
text: Regardless of what one thinks of that Hollywoodish distortion of her life story, it did stimulate an interest in the late Lady Day, though one might speculate as to whether the effect would have been the same had the film starred someone other than Diana Ross, a reigning queen of pop culture.
ref: 1973 April 23, Phyl Garland, “Sounds”, in Ebony, volume 28, number 6, Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co., retrieved 16 Jan 2022, page 33:
synonyms: goddess
glosses: A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
A woman pre-eminent in a particular group or field.
examples: text: Know you the town is full of folks?
 Know you the shows are full of queens?
That every mail is full of jokes
 Born of the nation's brightest beans?
ref: 1914, Franklin P. Adams, By and Large, Garden City, New York: Doulbleday, Page & Company, retrieved 15 Jan 2022, page 142:
text: When I find my queen, we’re having a whole tribe like our grandparents used to swing it back in the day.
ref: 1999, Camika Spencer, When All Hell Breaks Loose, New York: Villard, →ISBN, retrieved 15 Jan 2022, page 38:
synonyms: goddess
honey
glosses: A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
An attractive woman; a female partner in a romantic relationship.
examples: text: My mother was queen of the St. Patrick's Day parade when she was 19.
synonyms: goddess
glosses: A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
A girl or woman chosen to preside in an honorary or ceremonial manner over a specified festivity or occasion, as May Queen, Homecoming Queen, prom queen, pearly queen.
examples: text: Thare saw I May, of myrthfull monethis quene.
ref: 1508, William Dunbar, “The Goldyn Targe”, in William Dunbar, edited by Priscilla Bawcutt, The Poems of William Dunbar, volume 1, Glasgow: Association for Scottish Literary Studies, published 1998, →ISBN, page 186:
text: The foregoing eleven chapters of criticism were but preludes to an assertion: of theology as itself a social science, and the queen of the sciences for the inhabitants of the altera civitas, on pilgrimage through this temporary world.
ref: 2006, John Milbank, Theology and Social Theory, 2nd edition, Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, →ISBN, page 418:
glosses: Something regarded as the greatest of its kind or as having pre-eminence or power comparable to that of a queen over a given area.
examples: text: For this cauſe that when he [the pawn] can procede so well in warre, as to arriue at the laſte rancke of hys enemies, he is choſen and made the beſt piece of the playe, to wit, he is the Quene.
ref: 1562, Damiano da Odemira, translated by Iames Rowbothum, The Pleasaunt and Wittie Playe of the Cheasts Renewed, with Instructions Both to Learne It Easely, and to Play It Well, London, page A7v:
text: And, further, let us ſuppoſe, that your King is at Liberty to attack his Pawns upon one Side of the Board, by reckoning how many moves it will take your King to march and take thoſe two Pawns, and alſo, by adding the Number of Moves, which will be neceſſary for you to make a Queen with one of your Pawns: You will, by this Method, find out the exact number of Moves, before you can make a Queen.
ref: 1761, Edmond Hoyle, An Essay Towards Making the Game of Chess Easily Learned, London, retrieved 13 Jan 2022, page 51:
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: Referring to one of several items used in tabletop games:
A chess piece that, under contemporary rules, is the most powerful, able to move any number of spaces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
synonyms: bitch
dame
lady
old lady
whore
hypernyms: chess piece
chessman
holonyms: chess set
coordinate_terms: bishop
castle
king
knight
pawn
rook
examples: text: There is 5. trumps beside the Queene, yᵉ hindmost yᵘ shalt finde her
ref: 1575, Gammer Gurton’s Nedle:
text: Behold four Kings in majesty rever'd, / With hoary whiskers and a forky beard: / And four fair Queens whose hands sustain a flow'r / Th’ expressive emblem of their softer power; / Four Knaves, in garbs succinct, a trusty band, /Caps on their heads, and halberds in their hand; / And particolour’d troops, a shining train, / Draw forth to combat on the velvet plain.
ref: 1714, Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, →OCLC, canto III, page 140:
text: Just remember that a nine or ten on the flop may trap you against the early raiser if he’s holding a big pair, or if he catches an ace or king or queen — or even a jack — on a later round.
ref: 2003, Lou Krieger, Kathleen Keller Watterson, Internet Poker: How to Play and Beat Online Poker Games, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: ConJelCo, →ISBN, pages 84–85:
topics: card-games
games
glosses: Referring to one of several items used in tabletop games:
A playing card with a depiction of a queen on it, generally ranking next below the king and above the jack in a given suit.
synonyms: bitch
cowgirl
girl
lady
mop squeezer
hypernyms: court card
face card
<
playing card
<
card#Noun
holonyms: deck of cards
pack of cards
coordinate_terms: king
jack
knave
examples: text: Imran was good at carrom. Always after the bright red queen, the centre of attention on the board, he tussled to win it first.
ref: 2014, Shahnaz Bashir, The Half Mother: A Novel, Gurgaon, India: Hachette India, →ISBN:
glosses: Referring to one of several items used in tabletop games:
A red disk that is the most valuable piece in the Asian game of carrom.
examples: text: Each time a worker shakes the queen, she grasps the queen with her forelegs and shakes her own body for a second or so, delivering 10 to 20 vigorous shakings of the queen […]
ref: 2010, Thomas D. Seeley, Honeybee Democracy, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 37:
synonyms: king
hypernyms: bug
insect
glosses: A reproductive female insect in a hive, such as an ant, bee, termite or wasp.
glosses: A type of flatfish, specifically the lemon sole.
hypernyms: apple
glosses: A queen apple.
glosses: A queen scallop.
examples: text: Truss framed with King Posts […] Do. with Kings and Queens.
ref: 1811, Skyring's Builder’s Prices:
topics: business
construction
manufacturing
coordinate_terms: king
glosses: Ellipsis of queen post.
glosses: A type of large roofing slate.
examples: text: […] all of these men are lasciviously dressed in womanly attire, short sleeves, low-necked dresses and the usual ball-room decorations and ornaments of women, feathered and ribboned head-dresses, garters, frills, flowers, ruffles, etc., and deport themselves as women. Standing or seated on a pedestal, but accessible to all the rest, is the naked queen (a male), whose phallic member, decorated with a ribbon, is subject to the gaze and osculations in turn, of all the members of this lecherous gang of sexual perverts and phallic fornicators.
ref: 1893, C. H. Hughes, “Postscript to Paper on ‘Erotopathia’”, in The Alienist and Neurologist, volume 14, retrieved 04 Feb 2022, pages 731–732:
text: […] operator Charles Zipf described the "feminine" attire found in Gianelli’s room, reported his description of other "queens," and passed on "Salome's" admission of having had sex with men from the U.S.S. Baltimore.
ref: 1919, Lawrence R. Murphy, Perverts by Official Order: The Campaign Against Homosexuals by the United States Navy, New York: Harrington Park Press, published 1988, →ISBN, page 57:
text: But she's a queen, and such are queens that your laughter is sucked in their brains
ref: 1971, David Bowie, “Queen Bitch”, in Hunky Dory:
text: Despite one's opinion of Sylvia I can attest to the purity of her intent and dedication, and, no one will dare deny she is one gutsy queen.
ref: 1974 March 23, Bebe Scarpi, “Intro 2, a Threat to Transvestites?”, in Gay, volume 5, number 112, New York: Four Swords, retrieved 13 Jan 2022, page 5:
synonyms: word: fag
word: faggot
word: fairy
word: fruit
word: Mary
word: nancy
word: Nancy Dawson
word: nancyboy
word: nelly
word: pansy
word: ponce
word: poof
word: poofter
word: shirtlifter
word: twink
word: bading
word: big girl's blouse
word: cockney
word: cot-quean
word: cupcake
word: dudelet
word: fakaleiti
word: fairy
word: femboy
word: gentleman
word: ginch
word: girl's blouse
word: girlyman
word: janegirl
word: jessie
word: nancy
word: nancyboy
word: nancy pants
word: pansy
word: Percy
word: poof
word: poofter
word: posy sniffer
word: pretty boy
word: puss-gentleman
word: quiche-eater
word: sissy
word: softling
word: soy boy
word: swish
word: twink
word: zenana
hypernyms: gay
qualifier: LGBTQ slang
glosses: A homosexual man, especially one regarded as effeminate.
examples: text: A few outdoor houses for the queens are used.
ref: 1898 August 6, The Ladies’ Field:
text: When your queen has returned from the stud it is always advisable to keep her shut up until all restlessness has left her.
ref: 1906 September 23, C. S. Sedgwick, “Veterinary Notes”, in Pacific Fancier, volume 4, number 2, Los Angeles, retrieved 19 Jan 2022, page 25:
hypernyms: cat
coordinate_terms: tom
tomcat
glosses: An adult female cat capable of breeding.
examples: text: The combined quantity of Queens and Manzanillas to be pickled from the 1935 olive crop in the Seville District of Spain is estimated at 32,500 short tons, according to a report received from N. I. Nielsen, Agricultural Attaché at Paris.
ref: 1935 December 30, Foreign Agricultural Service, “Spanish Pickled Olive Production and Supplies”, in Foreign Crops and Markets, volume 31, number 27, Washington: United States Department of Agriculture, retrieved 04 Feb 2022, page 931:
text: Prices for the two main types of Spanish style green olives - manzanillas and queens - vary according to the size of the crop of each. In some years queens will be more expensive than manzanillas […]
ref: 1984, United States International Trade Commission, Bottled Green Olives from Spain, Washington, page A-24:
glosses: Ellipsis of queen olive.
examples: text: Since exposure plays a major role in the success of a queen, even those performers who do not win a Talent Night can obtain bookings by the bar and establish a reputation.
ref: 2004, Steven J. Hopkins, “‘Let the Drag Race Begin’: The Rewards of Becoming a Queen”, in Journal of Homosexuality, volume 46, numbers 3–4, →DOI, →ISSN, page 144:
text: "I mean, it's not for everyone. And there's definitely good drag and bad drag. […] But I did learn a lot about myself and what I wanted from my life from some of the queens I used to know."
ref: 2018 December 19, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 1111 - Drag:
glosses: Ellipsis of drag queen.
examples: text: Ad Hoc Softwares has bright hand-blocked floral cotton bed linens from India, including flat full/queen sheets, were $85, now $51; standard pillowcases, were $18 each, now $10.80 […]
ref: 1994 March 21, Leonore Fleischer, “Sales & Bargains”, in New York, volume 27, number 12, →ISSN, page 73:
synonyms: queen-size
queen-sized
glosses: Pertaining to a queen-size bed or queen-size bedding.
glosses: A monarch butterfly (Danaus spp., especially Danaus gilippus).
Derived terms: word: antiqueen
word: archqueen
word: bean queen
word: beauty queen
word: bio queen
word: black queen cell virus
word: butch-queen
word: butch queen
word: calico queen
word: chili queen
word: chocolate queen
word: circuit queen
word: closet queen
word: comeback queen
word: comma queen
word: complain queen
word: coupon queen
word: curry queen
word: dequeen
word: dinge queen
word: drag queen
word: drama queen
word: elf queen
word: every king needs a queen
word: eyeball queen
word: faux queen
word: fishy queen
word: flaming queen
word: garage queen
word: goddess-queen
word: God Shave the Queen
word: golden shower queen
word: green queen
word: gym queen
word: hangar queen
word: hangar-queen
word: harvest queen
word: Hoco Queen
word: Homecoming Queen
word: ice queen
word: King and Queen County
word: King and Queen Court House
word: leather queen
word: mad queen chess
word: May Queen
word: merqueen
word: multiqueen
word: muscle queen
word: Nubian queen
word: overqueen
word: pearly queen
word: pillow queen
word: potato queen
word: prom queen
word: pseudoqueen
word: Quainton
word: Queen Adelaide
word: queen angelfish
word: queen bee
word: queen bee acid
word: queen bee syndrome
word: queen-cage
word: queen cake
word: queen-cake
word: Queen Camel
word: queen cell
word: queen conch
word: queen-consort
word: queen consort
word: queencraft
word: queen cup
word: queendom
word: queen dowager
word: queen excluder
word: queenfish
word: queen for a day
word: Queenhill
word: queenhood
word: Queenie
word: queenish
word: Queenite
word: queenless
word: queenlet
word: queenlike
word: queenly
word: queenmaker
word: queen mandibular pheromone
word: queen mother
word: queen mum
word: queen of beasts
word: queen of clubs
word: queen of diamonds
word: Queen of Hearts
word: queen of hearts
word: Queen of Love
word: queen of puddings
word: Queen of Sheba
word: queen of spades
word: queen of spices
word: queen of the May
word: queen of the meadow
word: queen of the night
word: queen-of-the-prairie
word: queen olive
word: queen palm
word: queenpin
word: queen pineapple
word: queen post
word: queen regent
word: queen regnant
word: queen regnante
word: queen retinue pheromone
word: queenright
word: queenroot
word: Queensbury
word: Queen's English
word: Queensferry
word: Queen's Gambit
word: Queen's Gambit Accepted
word: queenship
word: queenside
word: Queen's Indian Defence
word: queen-size
word: queen snake
word: Queen's Park
word: queen's pudding
word: Queen's shilling
word: Queenstown
word: queen substance
word: queensware
word: queen truss
word: queen up
word: queenward
word: queenweed
word: queenwood
word: queeny
word: race queen
word: range queen
word: Republican Queen
word: requeen
word: rice queen
word: rice-queen
word: riverboat queen
word: scene queen
word: scream queen
word: seafood queen
word: semiqueen
word: short queen
word: size queen
word: slay queen
word: snowflake queen
word: Snow Queen
taxonomic: Veronica regina-nivalis
alt: syn. Synthyris reniformis
word: snow queen etc
word: speed queen
word: street queen
word: underqueen
word: uniform queen
word: unqueen
word: Valley of the Queens
word: welfare queen
word: who died and made you queen
word: wing queen
word: yas queen
Related terms: czarina
duchess
dyke
imperial
jack
kingdom
majesty
royalty
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