queen

noun

1》 the female ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the position by right of birth.

    ↘(also queen consort) a king's wife.

    ↘a woman or girl holding the most important position in a festival or event.

2》 a woman or thing regarded as the finest or most important in its sphere or group.

3》 informal a man's wife or girlfriend.

4》 the most powerful chess piece, able to move in any direction.

5》 a playing card bearing a representation of a queen, ranking next below a king.

6》 Entomology a reproductive female in a colony of ants, bees, wasps, or termites.

7》 an adult female cat that has not been spayed.

8》 informal a flamboyantly effeminate male homosexual.

verb

1》 (queen it) (of a woman) act in an unpleasantly superior way.

2》 Chess convert (a pawn) into a queen when it reaches the opponent's end of the board.

Derivatives

queendom noun

queen-like adjective

queenliness noun

queenly adjective

queenship noun

Origin

OE cwēn, of Gmc origin; related to quean.