cot-quean

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See also: cotquean

English

Etymology

From cot +‎ quean; see cot (cottage).

Pronunciation

Noun

cot-quean (plural cot-queans)

  1. (obsolete, derogatory) A man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman; an effeminate man.
    • c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, act 4, scene 4:
      Go, you cot-quean, go.
      Get you to bed!
    • 1716 April 30, Joseph Addison, No. 38, The Freeholder, quoted in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, published 1804, page 378, volume 4:
      A stateswoman is as ridiculous a creature as a cot-quean. Each of the sexes should keep within its particular bounds, and content themselves to excel within their respective districts.
  2. (obsolete, derogatory) A female cuckold; a cuckquean.
    • 1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster, act 4, scene 4:
      What, shall a husband be afraid of his wife's face? Will she paint it so horribly? We are a king, cotquean, and we will reign in our pleasures, and we will cudgel thee to death if thou find fault with us.

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