Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “cwēn” come from?

cwēn (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic kwāni, from Proto-Germanic kwēniz, from Proto-Indo-European gʷḗn, from Proto-Indo-European gʷen- — woman.

cwēn (Old English): queen; woman, wife, queen

Definitions

  1. queen; woman, wife, queen

Ancestry of “cwēn”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanickwāniwoman, wife
2Proto-Germanickwēnizwife
3Proto-Indo-Europeangʷḗnwoman
4Proto-Indo-Europeangʷen-woman

Words derived from “cwēn”

  • queen
  • Queenie
  • quean
  • queenship
  • queening
  • queenless
  • queendom
  • queenlike
  • queeny
  • queenie
  • queenside
  • queenhood
  • queenfish
  • Queenite
  • requeen
  • queenright
  • unqueen
  • cotquean
  • queenish
  • queener
  • unqueenlike
  • queenmaker
  • queenlet
  • semiqueen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷen- →