queen

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.

noun

1. The wife, consort, or widow of a king.
   The divorced king was looking for a new queen.
   Holonym: royal family
2. A female monarch.
   Holonym: royal family
   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 2022-01-14, 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. 17 March 2017, Sam Knight, “‘London Bridge Is Down’: The Secret Plan for the Days After the Queen’s Death”, in The Guardian, London, retrieved 2022-01-16
3. A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
   1. (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 2022-01-14
   2. An excellent woman.
      “Always look after that girl, doc. She's a queen!” 1915, Willa Sibert Cather, The Song of the Lark, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, retrieved 2022-01-17, page 149
   3. A woman pre-eminent in a particular group or field.
      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. April 1973, Phyl Garland, “Sounds”, in Ebony, volume 28, number 6, Chicago: Johnson Publishing Co., retrieved 2022-01-16, page 33
   4. (slang, originally US) 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 2022-01-15, 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, retrieved 2022-01-15, page 38
4. 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, 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, page 418
5. Referring to one of several items used in tabletop games:
   1. A chess piece that, under contemporary rules, is the most powerful, able to move any number of spaces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
      Holonym: chess set
      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 2022-01-13, page 51
   2. 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.
      Holonyms: deck of cards, pack of cards
      There is 5. trumps beside the Queene, yᵉ hindmost yᵘ shalt finde her 1575, Gammer Gurton’s Nedle
      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, pages 84–85
   3. A red disk that is the most valuable piece in the Asian game of carrom.
      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
6. s around the queen (sense 6) of the hive, marked with a pink dot]] 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, page 37
7. (obsolete) A type of flatfish, specifically the lemon sole.
8. (rare) A queen apple.
9. (originally UK) A queen scallop.
10. (construction, obsolete) Ellipsis of queen post.
    Truss framed with King Posts […] Do. with Kings and Queens. 1811, Skyring's Builder’s Prices
11. (now chiefly historical) A type of large roofing slate.
12. (slang, sometimes derogatory) A homosexual man, especially one regarded as effeminate.
    […] 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 2022-02-04, 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, page 57
    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. March 1974, Bebe Scarpi, “Intro 2, a Threat to Transvestites?”, in Gay, volume 5, number 112, New York: Four Swords, retrieved 2022-01-13, page 5
13. An adult female cat capable of breeding.
    A few outdoor houses for the queens are used. 6 August 1898, 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. September 1906, C. S. Sedgwick, “Veterinary Notes”, in Pacific Fancier, volume 4, number 2, Los Angeles, retrieved 2022-01-19, page 25
14. 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. 30 December 1935, 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 2022-02-04, 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
15. (LGBT, 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." 19 December 2018, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 1111 - Drag
16. (attributive, originally Canada, 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 […] 21 March 1994, Leonore Fleischer, “Sales & Bargains”, in New York, volume 27, number 12, →ISSN, page 73
17. A monarch butterfly (Danaus spp., especially Danaus gilippus).

verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To act the part of a queen; to behave imperiously; to queen it.
2. (transitive) To make a queen or (figuratively) to give the status of a queen.
3. (chess) To promote a pawn to a queen.
   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, page 39
4. (beekeeping) To be the queen bee of a colony.
   They have all been queened by imported stock, or the best of home-bred mothers. 22 November 1882, E. L. Briggs, “Development of ‘The Coming Bee’”, in The American Bee Journal, volume 18, number 47, retrieved 2022-01-15, 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
5. (beekeeping) To provide with a new queen bee.
   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?
   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, page 389
6. (BDSM, slang, transitive, 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, 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