queen consort

queen consort
    n 1: the wife of a reigning king
    

Queen \Queen\, n. [OE. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cw[=e]n
   wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. qu[=a]n wife, woman, Icel.
   kv[=a]n wife, queen, Goth. q[=e]ns. [root]221. See {Quean}.]
   1. The wife of a king.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a female
      monarch; as, Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary, queen of
      Scots.
      [1913 Webster]

            In faith, and by the heaven's quene.  --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees,
      ants, and termites.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Chess) The most powerful, and except the king the most
      important, piece in a set of chessmen.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. A playing card bearing the picture of a queen; as, the
      queen of spades.
      [1913 Webster]
      [1913 Webster]

   {Queen apple}. [Cf. OE. quyne aple quince apple.] A kind of
      apple; a queening. "Queen apples and red cherries."
      --Spenser.

   {Queen bee} (Zool.), a female bee, especially the female of
      the honeybee. See {Honeybee}.

   {Queen conch} (Zool.), 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
      ({Spir[ae]a Ulmaria}). See {Meadowsweet}.

   {Queen of the prairie} (Bot.), an American herb ({Spir[ae]a
      lobata}) with ample clusters of pale pink flowers.

   {Queen pigeon} (Zool.), 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}. (Zool.) 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}.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Consort \Con"sort\ (k[o^]n"s[^o]rt), n. [L. consore, -sortis;
   con- + sors lot, fate, share. See {Sort}.]
   1. One who shares the lot of another; a companion; a partner;
      especially, a wife or husband. --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

            He single chose to live, and shunned to wed,
            Well pleased to want a consort of his bed. --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

            The consort of the queen has passed from this
            troubled sphere.                      --Thakeray.
      [1913 Webster]

            The snow-white gander, invariably accompanied by his
            darker consort.                       --Darwin.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Naut.) A ship keeping company with another.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Concurrence; conjunction; combination; association; union.
      "By Heaven's consort." --Fuller. "Working in consort."
      --Hare.
      [1913 Webster]

            Take it singly, and it carries an air of levity;
            but, in consort with the rest, has a meaning quite
            different.                            --Atterbury.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. [LL. consortium.] An assembly or association of persons; a
      company; a group; a combination. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            In one consort' there sat
            Cruel revenge and rancorous despite,
            Disloyal treason, and heart-burning hate. --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

            Lord, place me in thy consort.        --Herbert.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. [Perh. confused with concert.] Harmony of sounds; concert,
      as of musical instruments. [Obs.] --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

            To make a sad consort';
            Come, let us join our mournful song with theirs.
                                                  --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Prince consort}, the husband of a queen regnant.

   {Queen consort}, the wife of a king, as distinguished from a
      {queen regnant}, who rules alone, and a {queen dowager},
      the window of a king.
      [1913 Webster]