Phrase guide

queen mother

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A widowed queen consort (a queen dowager) whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A woman, especially an older woman, with authority, preeminence, impressive presence, and/or a founding role in a specified area.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • the queen mother of Canadian literature

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a queen dowager who is mother of the reigning sovereign

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: queen dowager

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: الْمَلِكَة الْأُمّ — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Chinese Mandarin: 王太后 (wángtàihòu) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Chinese Mandarin: 太后 (tàihòu) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Czech: královna matka — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Danish: dronningemoder — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Dutch: koningin-moeder — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Esperanto: reĝina patrino — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Estonian: kuninga ema — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Finnish: kuningataräiti — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • French: reine mère — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Galician: raíña nai — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • German: Königinmutter — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • German: Kaiserinmutter — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Greek: βασιλομήτωρ (vasilomítor) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Hungarian: anyakirálynő — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Irish: ríonmháthair — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Italian: regina madre — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Japanese: 王太后 (ōtaigō) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Japanese: 皇太后 (kōtaigō) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Khmer: សម្ដេចព្រះវរមាតា (sɑmdach preah vɔɔ miedaa) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Korean: 왕태후 (wangtaehu) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Korean: 황태후 (hwangtaehu) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Manx: rein-voir — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Norman: reine méthe — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Norwegian Bokmål: dronningmor — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Persian: مهدعلیا (mahd-e-'ulyâ) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Polish: królowa matka — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Portuguese: rainha-mãe — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Russian: короле́ва-мать (koroléva-matʹ) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Spanish: reina madre — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Swedish: drottningmoder — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Ukrainian: короле́ва-ма́ти (koroléva-máty) — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Vietnamese: hoàng thái hậu — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
  • Vietnamese: thái hậu — widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch