cwen

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kwēniz ‎(“woman, wife”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn. Cognate with Old Saxon quān, Old Norse kvæn, Gothic 𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃 ‎(qens). The Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek γυνή ‎(gunḗ), (Greek γυναίκα ‎(gynaíka)), Proto-Slavic *žena (Old Church Slavonic жена ‎(žena), Russian жена ‎(žena)), Old Irish ben (Welsh benyw), and Albanian zonjë.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kweːn/

Noun

cwēn f

1. woman

   Seo clæneste cwen ofer eorþan: the purest woman on earth.

2. wife
3. queen

   Aðelwulf cyng Carles dohtor hæfde to cwene: King Athelwulf took Charles's daughter as his queen.

Declension

Declension of cwen (strong i-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	cwēn	cwēne, cwēna
accusative	cwēn, cwēne	cwēne, cwēna
genitive	cwēne	cwēna
dative	cwēne	cwēnum

Related terms

• cwene (woman, wife, prostitute)

Descendants

• Middle English quene
• Modern English queen

See also

• English: quean