Quean (?), n. [Originally, a woman, AS. cwene; akin to OS. quena, OHG.
quena, Icel. kona, Goth qin&?;, and AS. cwÈn, also to Gr. &?; woman,
wife, Skr. gn goddess. Cf. Queen.] 1. A woman; a young or unmarried
woman; a girl. [Obs. or Scot.] Chaucer.
2. A low woman; a wench; a slut. "The dread of every scolding quean."
Gay.
Quea"si*ly (?), adv. In a queasy manner.
Quea"si*ness, n. The state of being queasy; nausea; qualmishness;
squeamishness. Shak.
<! p. 1176 !>
Quea"sy (?), a. [Icel. kweisa pain; cf. Norw. kveis sickness after a
debauch.] 1. Sick at the stomach; affected with nausea; inclined to
vomit; qualmish.
2. Fastidious; squeamish; delicate; easily disturbed; unsettled;
ticklish. " A queasy question." Shak.
Some seek, when queasy conscience has its qualms.
Cowper.
Que*bec" group` (?). (Geol.) The middle of the three groups into which
the rocks of the Canadian period have been divided in the American
Lower Silurian system. See the Chart of Geology.
||Que*bra"cho (?), n. [Sp.] (Bot.) A Chilian apocynaceous tree
||(Aspidosperma Quebracho); also, its bark, which is used as a
||febrifuge, and for dyspnúa of the lung, or bronchial diseases; --
||called also white quebracho, to distinguish it from the red
||quebracho, a Mexican anacardiaceous tree (Loxopterygium Lorentzii)
||whose bark is said to have similar properties. J. Smith (Dict. Econ.
||Plants).
Queb"rith (?), n. [OE. quebrit, quibrith, Ar. kibrt.] (Alchemy)
Sulphur. [Obs.]
{ Quech (?), Queck (?), } v. i. [Cf. Quick, Queach.] A word occurring
in a corrupt passage of Bacon's Essays, and probably meaning, to stir,
to move.
Queen (?), n. [OE. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cwn wife, queen,
woman; akin to OS. qun wife, woman, Icel. kvn wife, queen, Goth. qns.
√221. See Quean.] 1. The wife of a king.
2. A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a female monarch; as,
Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary, queen of Scots.
In faith, and by the heaven's quene.
Chaucer.
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.
4. The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees, ants, and
termites.
5. (Chess) The most powerful, and except the king the most important,
piece in a set of chessmen.
6. A playing card bearing the picture of a queen; as, the queen of
spades.
Queen apple. [Cf. OE. quyne aple quince apple.] A kind of apple; a
queening. "Queen apples and red cherries." Spenser. -- Queen bee
(Zoˆl.), a female bee, especially the female of the honeybee. See
Honeybee. -- Queen conch (Zoˆl.), 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 (SpirÊa Ulmaria). See Meadowsweet. -- Queen
of the prairie (Bot.), an American herb (SpirÊa lobata) with ample
clusters of pale pink flowers. -- Queen pigeon (Zoˆl.), 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. (Zoˆl.) 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.
Queen, v. i. To act the part of a queen. Shak.
Queen, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Queened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Queening.]
(Chess.) To make a queen (or other piece, at the player's discretion)
of by moving it to the eighth row; as, to queen a pawn.
Queen"craft` (?), n. Craft or skill in policy on the part of a queen.
Elizabeth showed much queencraft in procuring the votes of the
nobility.
Fuller.
Queen"dom (?), n. The dominion, condition, or character of a queen.
Mrs. Browning.
Queen"fish` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A California sciÊnoid food fish (Seriphys
politus). The back is bluish, and the sides and belly bright silvery.
Called also kingfish.
Queen"hood (?), n. The state, personality, or character of a queen;
queenliness. Tennyson.
Queen"ing (?), n. [See Queen apple.] (Bot.) Any one of several kinds of
apples, as summer queening, scarlet queening, and early queening. An
apple called the queening was cultivated in England two hundred years
ago.
Queen"li*ness (?), n. The quality of being queenly; the; characteristic
of a queen; stateliness; eminence among women in attractions or power.
Queen"ly, a. [AS. cwnlic feminine.] Like, becoming, or suitable to, a
queen.
Queen"-post` (?), n. [Arch.] One of two suspending posts in a roof
truss, or other framed truss of similar form. See King-post.
Queen"ship, n. The state, rank, or dignity of a queen.
Queens"land nut` (?). (Bot.) The nut of an Australian tree (Macadamia
ternifolia). It is about an inch in diameter, and contains a single
round edible seed, or sometimes two hemispherical seeds. So called from
Queensland in Australia.
Queen" truss (?). (Arch.) A truss framed with queen-posts; a queen-post
truss.
Queer (?), a. [Compar. Queerer (?); superl. Queerest.] [G. quer cross,
oblique, athwart (cf. querkopf a queer fellow), OHG. twer, twerh,
dwerah; akin to D. dvars, AS, ˛weorh thwart, bent, twisted, Icel. ˛verr
thwart, transverse, Goth. ˛waÏrhs angry, and perh. to L. torqyere to
twist, and E. through. Cf. Torture, Through, Thwart, a.] 1. At variance
with what is usual or normal; differing in some odd way from what is
ordinary; odd; singular; strange; whimsical; as, a queer story or act.
" A queer look." W. Irving.
2. Mysterious; suspicious; questionable; as, a queer transaction.
[Colloq.]