swarmy en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From swarm + -y.
Meanings
-
Of bees: inclined to swarm.
There are those who will dispute this statement, but the fact of the matter is that swarminess is an inherited character and young queens produced by a swarmy colony will, most probably, also head swarmy colonies.
2004, John Ellis Dews, Eric Milner, Breeding Better Bees, page 6:
-
Swarming with people or activity; teeming.
This market is the noisiest and swarmiest centre of noisy and swarming Florence, and I always like to pass through it on that account.
1871, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Passages from the French and Italian note-books:
- (of a person, slang) Unscrupulous, sleazy, sneaky.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| swarmiest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| swarmier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |