Queen bee

Queen bee
Queen Queen, n. [OE. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cw[=e]n wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. qu[=a]n wife, woman, Icel. kv[=a]n wife, queen, Goth. q[=e]ns. [root]221. See {Quean}.] 1. The wife of a king. [1913 Webster]

2. A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a female monarch; as, Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary, queen of Scots. [1913 Webster]

In faith, and by the heaven's quene. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

4. The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees, ants, and termites. [1913 Webster]

5. (Chess) The most powerful, and except the king the most important, piece in a set of chessmen. [1913 Webster]

6. A playing card bearing the picture of a queen; as, the queen of spades. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster]

{Queen apple}. [Cf. OE. quyne aple quince apple.] A kind of apple; a queening. ``Queen apples and red cherries.'' --Spenser.

{Queen bee} (Zo["o]l.), a female bee, especially the female of the honeybee. See {Honeybee}.

{Queen conch} (Zo["o]l.), a very large West Indian cameo conch ({Cassis cameo}). It is much used for making cameos.

{Queen consort}, the wife of a reigning king. --Blackstone.

{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}.

{Queen of the meadow} (Bot.), a European herbaceous plant ({Spir[ae]a Ulmaria}). See {Meadowsweet}.

{Queen of the prairie} (Bot.), an American herb ({Spir[ae]a lobata}) with ample clusters of pale pink flowers.

{Queen pigeon} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of very large and handsome crested ground pigeons of the genus {Goura}, native of New Guinea and the adjacent islands. They are mostly pale blue, or ash-blue, marked with white, and have a large occipital crest of spatulate feathers. Called also {crowned pigeon}, {goura}, and {Victoria pigeon}.

{Queen regent}, or {Queen regnant}, a queen reigning in her own right.

{Queen's Bench}. See {King's Bench}.

{Queen's counsel}, {Queen's evidence}. See {King's counsel}, {King's evidence}, under {King}.

{Queen's delight} (Bot.), an American plant ({Stillinqia sylvatica}) of the Spurge family, having an herbaceous stem and a perennial woody root.

{Queen's metal} (Metal.), an alloy somewhat resembling pewter or britannia, and consisting essentially of tin with a slight admixture of antimony, bismuth, and lead or copper.

{Queen's pigeon}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Queen pigeon}, above.

{Queen's ware}, glazed English earthenware of a cream color.

{Queen's yellow} (Old Chem.), a heavy yellow powder consisting of a basic mercuric sulphate; -- formerly called {turpetum minerale}, or {Turbith's mineral}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • queen bee — queen′ bee′ n. 1) ent a fertile female bee 2) cvb sex a woman who is in a favored or preeminent position • Etymology: 1600–10 …   From formal English to slang

  • queen bee — noun singular HUMOROUS a woman who thinks she is the most important person in a group …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • queen bee — ► NOUN 1) the single reproductive female in a colony of honeybees. 2) informal a dominant woman in a group …   English terms dictionary

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  • queen bee — noun a) A reproductive female (especially the only one) in a colony of bees. It is generally believed that the queen bee mates only once in her lifetime. b) The most important or dominant woman in an organisation or situation. She muttered to her …   Wiktionary

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