Quebec group
(Que*bec" group`) (Geol.) The middle of the three groups into which the rocks of the
Canadian period have been divided in the American Lower Silurian system. See the Chart of Geology.
Quebracho
(||Que*bra"cho) n. [Sp.] (Bot.) A Chilian apocynaceous tree (Aspidosperma Quebracho); also,
its bark, which is used as a febrifuge, and for dyspnœa of the lung, or bronchial diseases; — called also
white quebracho, to distinguish it from the red quebracho, a Mexican anacardiaceous tree (Loxopterygium
Lorentzii) whose bark is said to have similar properties. J. Smith
Quebrith
(Queb"rith) n. [OE. quebrit, quibrith, Ar. kibrit.] (Alchemy) Sulphur. [Obs.]
Quech
(Quech Queck) v. i. [Cf. Quick, Queach.] A word occurring in a corrupt passage of Bacon's
Essays, and probably meaning, to stir, to move.
Queen
(Queen) n. [OE. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cwen wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. quan
wife, woman, Icel. kvan wife, queen, Goth. qens. &radic221. See Quean.]
1. The wife of a king.
2. A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a female monarch; as, Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary,
queen of Scots.
In faith, and by the heaven's quene.
Chaucer. 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.
4. The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees, ants, and termites.
5. (Chess) The most powerful, and except the king the most important, piece in a set of chessmen.
6. A playing card bearing the picture of a queen; as, the queen of spades.
Queen apple. [Cf. OE. quyne aple quince apple.] A kind of apple; a queening. "Queen apples and
red cherries." Spenser. — Queen bee (Zoöl.), a female bee, especially the female of the honeybee.
See Honeybee. — Queen conch (Zoöl.), a very large West Indian cameo conch 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 See Meadowsweet. — Queen of the prairie (Bot.), an American herb
(Spiræa lobata) with ample clusters of pale pink flowers. — Queen pigeon (Zoöl.), 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. (Zoöl.) 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.
Queen
(Queen), v. i. To act the part of a queen. Shak.
