Meanings
nounqueen mother (plural queen mothers)
plural queen mothers
- A widowed queen consort (a queen dowager) whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch.
- figurativelyA woman, especially an older woman, with authority, preeminence, impressive presence, and/or a founding role in a specified area.
the queen mother of Canadian literature
Translations
Arabic الْمَلِكَة الْأُمّ
- الْمَلِكَة الْأُمّwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Chinese Mandarin 王太后, 太后
- 王太后 (wángtàihòu)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
- 太后 (tàihòu)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Czech královna matka
- královna matkawidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Danish dronningemoder
- dronningemoderwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Dutch koningin-moeder
- koningin-moederwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Esperanto reĝina patrino
- reĝina patrinowidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Estonian kuninga ema
- kuninga emawidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Finnish kuningataräiti
- kuningataräitiwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
French reine mère
- reine mèrewidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
German Königinmutter, Kaiserinmutter
- Königinmutterwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
- Kaiserinmutterwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Greek βασιλομήτωρ
- βασιλομήτωρ (vasilomítor)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Hungarian anyakirálynő
- anyakirálynőwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Irish ríonmháthair
- ríonmháthairwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Italian regina madre
- regina madrewidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Japanese 王太后, 皇太后
- 王太后 (ōtaigō)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
- 皇太后 (kōtaigō)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Korean 왕태후, 황태후
- 왕태후 (wangtaehu)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
- 황태후 (hwangtaehu)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Norwegian Bokmål dronningmor
- dronningmorwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Persian مهدعلیا
- مهدعلیا (mahd-e-'ulyâ)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Polish królowa matka
- królowa matkawidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Portuguese rainha-mãe
- rainha-mãewidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Russian короле́ва-мать
- короле́ва-мать (koroléva-matʹ)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Spanish reina madre
- reina madrewidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Swedish drottningmoder
- drottningmoderwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Ukrainian короле́ва-ма́ти
- короле́ва-ма́ти (koroléva-máty)widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Vietnamese hoàng thái hậu, thái hậu
- hoàng thái hậuwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
- thái hậuwidowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch
Cite this entry
APA
queen mother. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/queen%20mother
MLA
“queen mother.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/queen%20mother. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “queen mother,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/queen%20mother.
Source: queen mother on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.