cwen

See also: cƿen

Old English

Alternative forms

• cwœ̄n

Etymology

From earlier cwœ̄n, from earlier *kwōni ← *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz (“woman, wife”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn. Cognate with Old Saxon quān, Old Norse kvæn, Gothic 𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃 (qēns). 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 жена́ (žená)), Old Irish ben (Welsh benyw), and Albanian zonjë.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kweːn/

Noun

cwēn f

1. queen

   Engla cwēn

   The queen of England

   Sēo cwēn wafode holdlīċe tō þām folce.

   The queen waved graciously to the people.

   Se cyning and sēo cwēn þanciaþ þē þīnre þeġnunge.

   The king and queen thank you for your service.

2. woman
3. wife

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

Synonyms

• cyninge

Related terms

• cwene (“woman, wife”)

Descendants

• Middle English: quene, qwene, cwene, queene, quen, qween, qweene, queyne, qwenne, qwhene, kuene, quiene, queen
  • English: queen (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: queen, wheen
  • Yola: queen