quean Hear it!

quean definition

quean (kwēn)

noun

  1. Archaic
    1. a bold, brazen woman; hussy
    2. a prostitute
  2. Scot. a girl or unmarried woman
  3. queen (sense )

Etymology: ME queyne < OE cwene, akin to cwen, queen & Goth qino, woman < IE base *gwenā, woman > queen, Sans ganā, goddess, Gr Gynē, woman

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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