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queen

[ kween ]
/ kwin /
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noun
verb (used without object)
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Origin of queen

First recorded before 900; Middle English quene, quen, Old English cwēn “woman, queen”; cognate with Old Saxon quān, Old Norse kvān, Gothic qēns, from unattested Germanic kwēni-; akin to Old Irish ben, Greek gynḗ woman, Russian zhená, Sanskrit jani “wife”

usage note for queen

The term queen is usually used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting when in reference to a gay man, especially one considered to be effeminate or flamboyant. However, within the gay community, it is sometimes used in a friendly, teasing, or facetious manner, and can also be a positive term of self-reference.

OTHER WORDS FROM queen

queen·less, adjectivequeen·like, adjectiveun·der·queen, noun

Other definitions for queen (2 of 2)

Queen
[ kween ]
/ kwin /

noun
Ellery, joint pen name of Manfred Bennington Lee and Frederick Dannay.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use queen in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for queen (1 of 2)

queen
/ (kwiːn) /

noun
verb

Word Origin for queen

Old English cwēn; related to Old Saxon quān wife, Old Norse kvæn, Gothic qēns wife

British Dictionary definitions for queen (2 of 2)

Queen
/ (kwiːn) /

noun
Ellery (ˈɛlərɪ). pseudonym of Frederic Dannay (1905–82) and Manfred B. Lee (1905–71), US co-authors of detective novels featuring a sleuth also called Ellery Queen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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