Dictionary

honeybee en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English honey Proto-Indo-European *bʰey-der. Proto-Germanic *bijǭ Proto-West Germanic *bijā Old English bēo Middle English be English bee English honeybee From honey + bee.

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of honey bee.
   alt of honey bee
   • In his new animated film, Jerry Seinfeld plays Barry B. Benson, a wisecracking, moony-eyed, charmingly petulant New York honeybee who doesn't want to spend his days as a worker bee stuck on the honeymaking assembly line. 2007 November 13, Natalie Angier, “In Hollywood Hives, the Males Rule”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 17 May 2021:
   • The bees’ cubital index, a method for differentiating breeds of honeybees, also confirmed they are “more of an indigenous bee” than anything else, he said, but their adaptations have made them unique and peculiar, and they have very little banding. “Supposedly, wild tree-nesting honeybees which can sustain themselves do not exist, so nobody knows what type of wild, self-sustaining honeybee is actually left in the UK.” 2021 November 7, Donna Ferguson, “‘No one knew they existed’: wild heirs of lost British honeybee found at Blenheim”, in The Guardian Online, archived from the original on 28 Apr 2022:

Forms