英和和英

語源

From queen +‎ bee. Compare 中期英語 kyng of been (“queen bee”, literally “king of bees”).

発音

名詞

queen bee (plural queen bees)

1. A reproductive female (especially the only one) in a colony of bees.

   Synonym: (very rare) beemother

   • 1947, AI Root, The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, Kessinger, published 2005, page 205:

     It is generally believed that the queen bee mates only once in her lifetime.

2. (idiomatic, colloquial, derogatory) The most important or dominant woman in an organization or situation.
   • 1981 February 14, Peg Cruikshank, “The Warmth Shines Through”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 29, page 15:

     She wrote very generously to aspiring women writers, gave them good advice, took time to read their manuscripts and comments, and warmly applauded their successes. There is not a hint of the Queen Bee in the attitude toward other women writers.

   • 2003, Jim Hatfield, Extra Marital Temptations, iUniverse, page 28:

     She muttered to her mother, “There's that obnoxious redhead who thought she was the Queen Bee last year when she was a senior!”

3. (Can we verify this sense?) (figurative) A stem cell.

派生語

• queen bee syndrome