quene
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word quene. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word quene, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say quene in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word quene you have here. The definition of the word quene will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofquene, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Letter by Lady Jane Grey addressed by "Jane the Quene" dated 1553
English
Noun
quene (plural quenes)
Anagrams
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English cwēn (“woman, wife, queen”) (the final schwa is by analogy with other Old English feminine nouns, such as Etymology 2), from Proto-West Germanic *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz, from a derivative of *gʷḗn (“woman, wife”). Cognates include:
- Ancient Greek γυνή (gunḗ), Greek γυναίκα (gynaíka)
- Old Prussian genna
- Persian زَن (zan)
- Sanskrit जनि (jani)
- Proto-Slavic *žena
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Noun
quene (plural quenes or (early) quene)
- A queen (female monarch; queen regnant)
- A queen (consort to a king or similar ruler; queen consort)
- Any powerful woman noble (e.g. a former queen consort, a duchess, etc.)
- A female divine or holy figure; a female divinity or the Virgin Mary.
- A female embodiment, exemplar, or representation of a moral ideal.
- (familiar) An affectionate or loving way to refer to a woman one loves.
- (rare) A female follower of Christianity in heaven.
- (rare, Late Middle English) The queen (chess piece introduced towards the end of the ME era)
Descendants
References
- “quẹ̄n(e, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 6 May 2019.
Etymology 2
From Old English cwene (“woman, wife, prostitute”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwenā, from Proto-Germanic *kwenǭ, from the same Indo-European source as above. Cognate to Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌽𐍉 (qinō), Middle High German kone, kan, kun, quëne, Old Norse kona, and Middle Low German quene.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Noun
quene (plural quenes or (early) quenen)
- A woman, especially one of low birth.
- A female prostitute or sex worker.
- An elderly woman.
Descendants
References
- “quē̆ne, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 6 May 2019.