quene
English
Noun
quene (plural quenes)
- Obsolete spelling of queen
Anagrams
- Queen, queen
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 (zæn)
- Sanskrit जनि (jani)
- Proto-Slavic *žena
Alternative forms
- qwene, cwene, queene, quen, qween, qweene, queyne, qwenne, qwhene, kuene, quiene, queen
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkweːn(ə)/
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
- English: queen (see there for further descendants)
- Scots: queen, wheen
- Yola: queen
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
- qwene, cwene, queene, quen, qweyn
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkwɛːn(ə)/, /ˈkwɛn(ə)/
Noun
quene (plural quenes or (early) quenen)
- A woman, especially one of low birth.
- A female prostitute or sex worker.
- An elderly woman.
Descendants
- English: quean
- Scots: quean, quein, quine, quin, queynie
References
- “quē̆ne, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 6 May 2019.