Queen mother

Queen mother
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 mother — is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort (a queen dowager ) whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. [A queen mother is defined as A Queen dowager who is the mother of the reigning sovereign by both the …   Wikipedia

  • Queen Mother — n [singular] the mother of the ruling king or queen Queen Mother 2 Queen Mother, the (1900 2002) the mother of the British Queen Elizabeth II, whose official title was Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She was one of the most popular members of… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • queen mother — n. a queen dowager who is mother of a reigning sovereign …   English World dictionary

  • queen mother — ► NOUN ▪ the widow of a king and mother of the sovereign …   English terms dictionary

  • queen mother — noun a queen dowager who is mother of the reigning sovereign • Hypernyms: ↑queen dowager * * * noun : a queen dowager who is mother of the reigning sovereign * * * a queen dowager who is mother of a reigning sovereign. [1570 80] * * * queen… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Queen Mother — N PROPER: the N The Queen Mother is the mother of a ruling king or queen …   English dictionary

  • Queen Mother Moore — (July 27, 1898 May 2, 1996) was an African American civil rights leader and a black nationalist who was friends with such civil rights leaders as Marcus Garvey, Nelson Mandela and Jesse Jackson. She was an important figure in the U.S. Civil… …   Wikipedia

  • Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother — [Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother] ; » Queen Mother …   Useful english dictionary

  • Queen Mother, the — the mother of the present king or queen of a country …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • queen mother — queen′ moth′er n. gov a queen dowager who is mother of a reigning sovereign • Etymology: 1570–80 …   From formal English to slang

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