The only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs.

ETYM Old Eng. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cwęn wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. quân wife, woman, Icel. kvân wife, queen, Goth. qęns. Related to Quean.
1. A female sovereign ruler; SYN. queen regnant, female monarch.
2. The wife or widow of a king.
3. One of four cards in a deck bearing a picture of a queen.
6. Especially large and only member of a colony of naked mole rats to bear offspring sired by only a few males.

The most powerful chess piece; it may move perpendicularly or diagonally across the board.