# queen

> English word · Noun · IPA /kwiːn/ · frequency rank #1,466

## Definitions
1. The wife, consort, or widow of a king.
2. A female monarch.
3. A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
4. A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
5. A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
6. A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
7. A woman whose pre-eminence, power, or forcefulness is comparable to that of a queen.
8. 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.
9. Referring to one of several items used in tabletop games:
10. Referring to one of several items used in tabletop games:
11. Referring to one of several items used in tabletop games:
12. A reproductive female insect in a hive, such as an ant, bee, termite or wasp.
13. A type of flatfish, specifically the lemon sole.
14. A queen apple.
15. A queen scallop.
16. Ellipsis of queen post.
17. A type of large roofing slate.
18. A homosexual man, especially one who is effeminate or flaming.
19. An adult female cat capable of breeding.
20. Ellipsis of queen olive.
21. Ellipsis of drag queen.
22. Pertaining to a queen-size bed or queen-size bedding.
23. A monarch butterfly (Danaus spp., especially Danaus gilippus).

## 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.
In reference to insects, by analogy with the obsolete term king, which it took over from starting in the 1600s, when they were discovered to be female.

## Easily confused with
- **quiet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-quiet)
- **quest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-quest)
- **Quinn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-quinn)
- **queue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-queue)
- **queer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-queer)
- **query** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-query)
- **Quran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-quran)
- **quell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-quell)
- **Queens** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-queens)
- **queues** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-queues)
- **Quezon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-quezon)
- **queued** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/queen-vs-queued)
- **que** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/que-vs-queen)
- **Quebec** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quebec-vs-queen)

## Common misspellings (6)
`qeuen`, `qqueen`, `queenn`, `quen`, `quene`, `uqeen`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/queen