Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A female social insect that is or has the potential to become a reproductive queen, in contrast to a sterile worker.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The primary reproductive female caste of social insects (especially ants, wasps, and bees), those destined to become queens.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek gunē, woman; see gwen- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowed from Ancient Greek γυνή (gunē, "female").

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