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Anglo-Saxon

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CWÉN

  • noun [ feminine ]
Dictionary links
Grammar
CWÉN, gen. dat. cwéne; acc. cwén, cwénn, cwéne; pl. nom. acc. cwéne, cwéna; gen. cwéna; dat. cwénum; f: cwéne, cwýne; gen. dat. acc. cwénan, cwýnan; pl. nom. acc. cwénan; gen. cwénena; dat. cwénum; f.
Wright's OE grammar
§5; §47; §122; §163; §263; §285; §310; §389; §390;
a woman ; femina
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  • Seó clǽneste cwén ofer eorþan

    the purest woman upon earth,

    • Exon. 12a
      • ;
    • Th. 17,
      • 27;
    • Cri. 276
      • .

  • Þurh ða æðelan cwénn

    through the noble woman,

    • 25b
      • ;
    • Th. 73, 34
      • ;
    • Cri. 1199
      • .

  • Cwéna sélost

    the best of women,

    • Menol. Fox 334
      • ;
    • Men. 168
      • .

  • Ealdra cwéna spell

    old women's talk;

    anilis fabula

    ,
    • Ælfc. Gl. 100
      • ;
    • Som. 77, 20
      • ;
    • Wrt. Voc. 55,
      • 24.

  • Ic wæs feaxhár cwéne

    I was a hoary-headed woman,

    • Exon. 126b
      • ;
    • Th. 487, 13
      • ;
    • Rä. 73,
      • 1.

  • On cwénena bróce, of cwénena bróce

    to the women's brook, from the women's brook,

    • Cod. Dipl. Apndx. 426
      • ;
    • A. D. 949
      • ;
    • Kmbl. iii. 429,
      • 34.
a wife ; uxor
Show examples

  • Abrahames cwén

    Abraham's wife,

    • Cd. 103
      • ;
    • Th. 136, 17
      • ;
    • Gen. 2259
      • .

  • Hæleða cwénum

    to the wives of the warriors,

    • 169
      • ;
    • Th. 210, 7
      • ;
    • Exod. 511
      • .

  • Gif preóst cwénan forlǽte, and óðre nime, anaþema sit

    if a priest forsake his wife, and take another, let him be excommunicated,

    • L. N. P. L. 35
      • ;
    • Th. ii. 296,
      • 1.

  • Gif man mid esnes cwýnan geligeþ, be cwicum ceorle, ii gebéte

    if a man lie with an 'esne's' wife, her husband, still living, let him make twofold amends,

    • L. Ethb. 85
      • ;
    • Th. i. 24,
      • 9.
a king's or emperor's wife, a QUEEN, empress ; regina, imperatrix, augusta
Show examples

  • Cwén

    regina,

    • Ælfc. Gl. 68
      • ;
    • Som. 69, 128
      • ;
    • Wrt. Voc. 42, 8: 72, 56: Mt. Bos. 12, 42: Lk. Bos. 11, 31: Ors. 1, 10
      • ;
    • Bos. 33, 23: 3,
      • 11;
    • Bos. 73, 37: Chr. 672
      • ;
    • Erl. 35, 37: 722
      • ;
    • Erl. 45, 26: Beo. Th. 1851
      • ;
    • B. 923: Elen. Kmbl. 494
      • ;
    • El. 247
      • .

  • Ðæs [MS. ðes] cáseres cwén imperatrix vel

    augusta,

    • Wrt. Voc. 72,
      • 58.

  • Oft on ánre tíde acenþ seó cwén and seó wyln

    the queen and the slave often bring forth at one time,

    • Homl. Th. i. 110, 27: Elen. Kmbl. 832
      • ;
    • El. 416: 1113
      • ;
    • El. 558: Beo. Th. 2311
      • ;
    • B. 1153
      • .

  • Seó ylce cwén Sarméramis

    the same queen Sameramis,

    • Ors. 1,
      • 2;
    • Bos. 27,
      • 6.

  • Ðær wearþ Marsepia, sió cwén , ofslagen

    Marpesia, the queen, was slain there,

    • 1, 10
      • ;
    • Bos. 33, 22, 24: Elen. Kmbl. 756
      • ;
    • El. 378: Bt. Met. Fox 26, 178
      • ;
    • Met. 26,
      • 89.

  • Ðeós cwén

    this queen,

    • Elen. Kmbl. 1064
      • ;
    • El. 533: 1099
      • ;
    • El. 551
      • .

  • He wæs on ðære cwéne gewealdum

    he was in the queen's power,

    • 1217
      • ;
    • El. 610: 2269
      • ;
    • El. 1136
      • .

  • Ðone hie ðære cwéne agéfon

    they gave him up to the queen,

    • 1171
      • ;
    • El. 587: 2257
      • ;
    • El. 1130
      • .

  • Aðelwulf cyng Carles dóhtor hæfde to cwéne

    king Æthelwulf had the daughter of Charles for his queen,

    • Chr. 885
      • ;
    • Erl. 85, 3: 1017
      • ;
    • Erl. 161, 10: 1048
      • ;
    • Erl. 180,
      • 21.

  • Mid ða æðelan cwén

    with the noble queen,

    • Elen. Kmbl. 550
      • ;
    • El. 275: Beo. Th. 1334
      • ;
    • B. 665: Exon. 86a
      • ;
    • Th. 324, 29
      • ;
    • Wíd. 102
      • .

  • Ofslóh ge ðone cyning, ge ða cwéne

    slew both the ting and the queen,

    • Ors. 3, 11
      • ;
    • Bos. 74, 4: Homl. Th. i. 438, 21: Exon. 90a
      • ;
    • Th. 338, 22; Gn. Ex. 82
      • .

  • Cyningas and cwéne

    kings and queens,

    • 113a
      • ;
    • Th. 433, 15
      • ;
    • Rä. 50,
      • 8.

  • Hiora twá wǽron heora cwéna, Marsepia and Lampida wǽron hátene

    two of them, called Marpesia and Lampelo, were their queens,

    • Ors. 1, 10
      • ;
    • Bos. 33, 14,
      • 35.

  • Se wæs Melcolmes sunu cynges and Margarite ðære cwénan

    he was the son of king Malcolm and queen Margaret,

    • Chr. 1097
      • ;
    • Erl. 234,
      • 37.
Etymology
[
Prompt. quene regina; quen, womann of lytylle price:
Wyc. queene:
Piers P. queyne, queene:
R. Brun. R. Glouc. quene:
Laym. quen-e, f:
Orm. cwen:
Scot. queyn, quean a young woman:
Plat. quene:
O. Sax. cwán, cwéna , f. uxor:
Dut. kween , f. a married woman:
Kil. quene uxor, mulier:
Ger. königin , f:
M. H. Ger. kone, kon , f. uxor:
O. H. Ger. quena, chena, chone , f. mulier, conjux, uxor:
Goth. qens , f. mulier, uxor:
Dan. qwinde, kone mulier, uxor:
Swed. qwinna , f. mulier, uxor; kåna, f. a low woman:
Icel. kona, kuna, kwán, kwǽn a woman, wife, queen:
Grk. γυνή femina, genitrix:
Slav. shena:
Sansk. gnā, jani . f. a woman, wife, mother
.]
Derived forms
ryht-cwén , folc-, gúþ-, sige-, þeód-
Linked entries
v.  cwǽn cwéne cwýne cuén.
Entry information
Citation

Bosworth, Joseph. “CWÉN.” In An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online, edited by Thomas Northcote Toller, Christ Sean, and Ondřej Tichy. Prague: Faculty of Arts, Charles University, 2014. https://bosworthtoller.com/6935.

Checked: 1
Full form

Word-wheel

  • CWÉN, n.

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