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queen

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.

4. The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees, ants, and termites.

5. 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. . Queen bee, a very large west Indian cameo conch (Cassis cameo). It is much used for making cameos. Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king. Queen dowager, the widow of a king. Queen gold, formerly a revenue of the queen consort of England, arising from gifts, fines, etc. Queen mother, a queen dowager who is also mother of the reigning king or queen. Queen of May. See May queen, under May.

(Science: botany) Queen of the meadow, a heavy yellow powder consisting of a basic mercuric sulphate; formerly called turpetum minerale, or Turbith's mineral.

Origin: OE. Quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. Cwen wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. Quan wife, woman, Icel. Kvan wife, queen, Goth. Qens. See Quean.