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The lady of the May games; one of the characters in a morris dance; a May queen. Afterward, a grotesque character personated in sports and buffoonery by a man in woman's clothes.

Hence, used with the possessive pronoun, the title of an emperor, king or queen; -- in this sense taking a plural; as, their majesties attended the concert. In all the public writs which he [Emperor Charles V.] now issued as King of Spain, he assumed the title of Majesty, and required it from his subjects as a mark of…

Pertaining to the Virgin Mary, or sometimes to Mary, Queen of England, daughter of Henry VIII. Of all the Marian martyrs, Mr. Philpot was the best-born gentleman. Fuller. Maid Marian. See Maidmarian in the Vocabulary.

Having no equal; unequaled. "A matchless queen." Waller.

e first day of May; -- celebrated in the rustic parts of England by the crowning of a May queen with a garland, and by dancing about a May pole. -- May dew, the morning dew of the first day of May, to which magical properties were attributed. -- May flower (Bot.), a plant that flowers in May; also, its blossom. See M…

A wonder or wonderful thing. That miracle and queen of genus. Shak.

exercises authority, is chief, etc.; the female head of a family, a school, etc. The late queen's gentlewoman! a knight's daughter! To be her mistress' mistress! Shak.

A sole or supreme ruler; a sovereign; the highest ruler; an emperor, king, queen, prince, or chief. He who reigns Monarch in heaven, ... upheld by old repute. Milton.

remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed. -- Mother queen, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother. -- Mother tongue. (a) A language from which another language has had its origin. (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue. -- Mother water. See Mother liquor…

The king of the fairies, and husband of Titania or Queen Mab. Shak.

rristers; -- so called because in court they occupy a place beyond the space reserved for Queen's counsel.

A kind of minuet, in triple time, of French origin, popular in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and for some time after; -- called also passing measure, and passymeasure. Percy Smith.

ssion; to impassion. [Obs.] Great pleasure, mixed with pitiful regard, The godly kind and queen did passionate. Spenser.

similar to poker; also, the dice used in this game, esp. when marked with the ace, king, queen, jack, ten, and nine instead of the usual digits.

y always prevent and follow us. Bk. of Common Prayer. Then had I come, preventing Sheba's queen. Prior.

applied to a female. Wyclif (Rev. i. 5). Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince. Milton. Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex. Camden.

sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. Dryden. So excellent a princess as the present queen. Swift.

the sovereign, composed of the cabinet ministers and other persons chosen by the king or queen. Burrill. -- Privy councilor, a member of the privy council. -- Privy purse, moneys set apart for the personal use of the monarch; also, the title of the person having charge of these moneys. [Eng.] Macaulay. -- Privy sea…

continue; as, to prolong one's days. Prolong awhile the traitor's life. Shak. The unhappy queen with talk prolonged the night. Dryden.

One who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth and the first two Stuarts, opposed traditional and formal usages, and advocated simpler forms of faith and worship than those established by law; -- originally, a term of reproach. The Puritans formed the bulk of the early population of New England.