From Middle English quene, queen, cwen, from Old English cwēn (“queen”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz (“wife, 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 Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk 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.
The king doth keepe his Reuels here to night. Take heede the Queene come not within his ſight.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]:
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A female monarch.
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.1582, Thomas Lupton, The Christian Against the Jesuite, London, retrieved 14 Jan 2022, page 50v:
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.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:
› A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or…
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Christianity The Virgin Mary (especially in formulations such as Queen of Heaven, Queen of Glory).
[…] 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.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:
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An excellent woman.
Always look after that girl, doc. She's a queen!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:
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A woman pre-eminent in a particular group or field.
But now I was the Lord / Of this faire manſion,maſter of my ſeruants, / Queene ore my ſelfe : and euen now,but now.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:
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.1973 April 23, Phyl Garland, “Sounds”, in Ebony, volume 28, number 6, Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co., retrieved 16 Jan 2022, page 33:
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Slang An attractive woman; a female partner in a romantic relationship.
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?1914, Franklin P. Adams, By and Large, Garden City, New York: Doulbleday, Page & Company, retrieved 15 Jan 2022, page 142:
When I find my queen, we’re having a whole tribe like our grandparents used to swing it back in the day.1999, Camika Spencer, When All Hell Breaks Loose, New York: Villard, →ISBN, retrieved 15 Jan 2022, page 38:
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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.
My mother was queen of the St. Patrick's Day parade when she was 19.
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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.
Thare saw I May, of myrthfull monethis quene.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:
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.2006, John Milbank, Theology and Social Theory, 2nd edition, Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, →ISBN, page 418:
› Referring to one of several items used in…
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Board games, Chess, Games A chess piece that, under contemporary rules, is the most powerful, able to move any number of spaces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
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.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:
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.1761, Edmond Hoyle, An Essay Towards Making the Game of Chess Easily Learned, London, retrieved 13 Jan 2022, page 51:
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Card games, 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.
There is 5. trumps beside the Queene, yᵉ hindmost yᵘ shalt finde her1575, Gammer Gurton’s Nedle:
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.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:
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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.2003, Lou Krieger, Kathleen Keller Watterson, Internet Poker: How to Play and Beat Online Poker Games, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: ConJelCo, →ISBN, pages 84–85:
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A red disk that is the most valuable piece in the Asian game of carom.
Imran was good at carrom. Always after the bright red queen, the centre of attention on the board, he tussled to win it first.2014, Shahnaz Bashir, The Half Mother: A Novel, Gurgaon, India: Hachette India, →ISBN:
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A reproductive female insect in a hive, such as an ant, bee, termite or wasp.
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 […]2010, Thomas D. Seeley, Honeybee Democracy, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 37:
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Obsolete A type of flatfish, specifically the lemon sole.
Derogatory, Sometimes A homosexual man, especially one who is effeminate or flaming.
[…] 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.1893, C. H. Hughes, “Postscript to Paper on ‘Erotopathia’”, in The Alienist and Neurologist, volume 14, retrieved 04 Feb 2022, pages 731–732:
[…] 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.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:
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But she's a queen, and such are queens that your laughter is sucked in their brains1971, David Bowie, “Queen Bitch”, in Hunky Dory:
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.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:
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An adult female cat capable of breeding.
A few outdoor houses for the queens are used.1898 August 6, The Ladies’ Field:
When your queen has returned from the stud it is always advisable to keep her shut up until all restlessness has left her.1906 September 23, C. S. Sedgwick, “Veterinary Notes”, in Pacific Fancier, volume 4, number 2, Los Angeles, retrieved 19 Jan 2022, page 25:
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Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of queen olive.
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.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:
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 […]1984, United States International Trade Commission, Bottled Green Olives from Spain, Washington, page A-24:
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Abbreviation, Ellipsis, Slang Ellipsis of drag queen.
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.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:
"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."2018 December 19, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 1111 - Drag:
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US Pertaining to a queen-size bed or queen-size bedding.
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 […]1994 March 21, Leonore Fleischer, “Sales & Bargains”, in New York, volume 27, number 12, →ISSN, page 73:
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US, Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of queen-size bed or mattress.
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A monarch butterfly (Danaus spp., especially Danaus gilippus).
From Middle English quene, queen, cwen, from Old English cwēn (“queen”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz (“wife, 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 Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk 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.
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Obsolete To act the part of a queen; to behave imperiously; to queen it.
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To make a queen or (figuratively) to give the status of a queen.
This dreame of mine / Being now awake, Ile Queene it no inch farther, / But milke my Ewes, and weepe.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv], page 295, column 1:
Neither King will be able to stop the opponent's pawns from queening, when the game should be a draw. In such cases, which side queens first, or queens with check, can make a crucial difference. In this case, White promotes his pawn first and is able to put this advantage to good use.2003, Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Endings, London: Everyman Chess, →ISBN, page 39:
They have all been queened by imported stock, or the best of home-bred mothers.1882 November 22, E. L. Briggs, “Development of ‘The Coming Bee’”, in The American Bee Journal, volume 18, number 47, retrieved 15 Jan 2022, page 743:
The nucleus should not be queened by a queen from any of the parent colonies.1957, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (India), The Wealth of India, page 263:
In queening his apiary, he aims to keep about half of the queens of the current season's rearing, and the other of the summer preceding.1896, The Progressive Bee-Keeper, page 320:
If such a queen is immediately allowed to run through the entrance of a queenless colony, the queening is usually successful.1967, Everett Franklin Phillips, Are Bees Reflex Machines?:
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Once you have introduced the queen, the first three steps of the capture have been completed, namely: blocking the tree, providing an alternate home, and queening the colony.1980, Robert E. Donovan, Hunting Wild Bees:
Sealed cells with about to emerge queens are used for queening the divisions.2007, NPCS Board of Consultants & Engineers, The Complete Book on Beekeeping and Honey Processing, →ISBN, page 389:
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BDSM, Lifestyle, SexualitySlang, Usually, Of a woman To sit on a person’s face to receive oral sex, typically while straddling the person’s head.
The classic posture, in which you lie on your back while the male serves you, may make him feel arrogant and in charge. Try Queening him. Have him lie on his back while you sit on his face (make sure he has an airway through either his mouth or his nose).1996, Lorelei, The Mistress Manual: The Good Girl’s Guide to Female Dominance, Scranton, Pennsylvania: Berkana Press, →ISBN, page 138:
She saw his pink tongue flickering on Clare's exposed nympha as she queened him, her love juices shining on his chin and throat[…]2012, Yolanda Celbridge, The Castle of Maldona:
Alternative letter-case form of queen (“consort or widow of a king”).
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Alternative letter-case form of queen (“female monarch”).
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A title used before the personal name of a queen.
Queen Elizabeth II
The reminiscences of Princess Mary Louise, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, vividly evoke this continuity of royal women “performing” masculinity, by a page of illustration showing Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II, mounted on horseback in almost identical uniform, reviewing troops.2007, Clarissa Campbell Orr, “The Feminization of the Monarchy, 1780–1910: Royal Masculinity and Female Empowerment”, in Andrzej Olechnowicz, editor, The Monarchy and the British Nation, 1780 to the Present, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 94:
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radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter Q.
World War II era; joint US/RAF; World War II era; joint US/RAF