Meanings
plural cot-queans
- derogatoryobsoleteA man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman; an effeminate man.
Go, you cot-quean, go. Get you to bed!
c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, act 4, scene 41 more example
A stateswoman is as ridiculous a creature as a cot-quean. Each of the sexes should keep within its particular bounds, and content themselves to excel within their respective districts.
1716 April 30, Joseph Addison, No. 38, The Freeholder, quoted in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, published 1804, page 378, volume 4 - derogatoryobsoleteA female cuckold; a cuckquean.
What, shall a husband be afraid of his wife's face? Will she paint it so horribly? We are a king, cotquean, and we will reign in our pleasures, and we will cudgel thee to death if thou find fault with us.
1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster, act 4, scene 4Synonyms: cuckquean
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman; an effeminate man.
nounA female cuckold; a cuckquean.
Origin
From cot + quean; see cot (“cottage”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cot-quean. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cot-quean
“cot-quean.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cot-quean. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cot-quean,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cot-quean.
Source: cot-quean on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.