queen (redirected from queenship)

queen

1. a female sovereign who is the official ruler or head of state

2. the wife or widow of a king

3. 

a. the only fertile female in a colony of social insects, such as bees, ants, and termites, from the eggs of which the entire colony develops

b. (as modifier): a queen bee

4. an adult female cat

5. one of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a queen

6. a chess piece, theoretically the most powerful piece, able to move in a straight line in any direction or diagonally, over any number of squares

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queen [kwēn]

(invertebrate zoology)

A mature, fertile female in a colony of ants, bees, or termites, whose function is to lay eggs.