- Queen originally referred to a female ruler of a state, but now is used metaphorically to describe a woman who exudes power and success (qualities typically associated with queens). The word queen meaning female ruler also experienced semantic change, as Queen narrowed from meaning “wife” to just referring to the king’s wife.
Queen
noun
An intelligent, attractive, empowered, women who is successful and enviable. Also used by women to describe their female friends when they have done something worth celebrating.
Etymology : Queen is cognate with the Old Saxon word “quān” meaning wife and comes from the Indo-European base of “quean” meaning either wife or older woman (retrieved from Oxford English Dictionary).
Source : A powderpuff teammate catches an interception. Another teammate: You are a queen! (Conversation at powderpuff game, 11/01/2019) Me: Do you like Beyonce? Friend: Beyonce is a queen. (Conversation with friend, 10/17/2019)
Last modified: 13 December 2019