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(), n.[OE. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cwn wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. qun wife, woman, Icel. kvn wife, queen, Goth. qns. 221. See Quean.] 1. The wife of a king. 2. A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a female monarch; as, Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary, queen of Scots. In faith, and by the heaven's quene. Chaucer. 3. A woman eminent in power or attractions; the highest of her kind; as, a queen in society; -- also used figuratively of cities, countries, etc. " This queen of cities." " Albion, queen of isles." Cowper. 4. The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees, ants, and termites. 5. (Chess) The most powerful, and except the king the most important, piece in a set of chessmen. 6. A playing card bearing the picture of a queen; as, the queen of spades. Queen apple. [Cf. OE. quyne aple quince apple.] A kind of apple; a queening. "Queen apples and red cherries." Spenser. Queen bee (Zol.), a female bee, especially the female of the honeybee. See Queen v. i.To act the part of a queen. Shak. Queen v. i.[imp. & p. p.Queened (); p. pr. & vb. n.Queening.] (Chess.) To make a queen (or other piece, at the player's discretion) of by moving it to the eighth row; as, to queen a pawn. スポンサード リンク
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