Queen of May

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]