bee

Meaning

Noun

1. A flying insect, of the clade Anthophila within the hymenopteran superfamily Apoidea, known for its organised societies (though only a minority have them), for collecting pollen and (in some species) producing wax and honey.
2. (informal, proscribed) Any stinging flying insect, especially a wasp.

Verb

1. (alt-of, obsolete) Obsolete spelling of be.
2. (form-of, obsolete, participle, past) past participle of be; been

Synonyms

honeybee

🐝

wasp

bumblebee

honey

🍯

beetle

🪲

hornet

honey bee

fly

✈️

black bee

drone

honey-bee

yellow jacket

bees

molasses

mosquito

🦟

punishment

race

racing

rivalry

sorghum

syrup

society

Apis indica

large black bee

yellowjacket

apis

native bee

association

beehive

bug

🐛

company

competition

contention

contest

drunkard

emulation

etc.

fancy

insect

Translations

abeille

🐝

abeja

🐝

ape

🐝

Biene

🐝

bij

abelha

🐝

μέλισσα

abella

🐝

apis

🐝

arı

🐝

honingbij

🐝

abelha

نحلة

🐝

نَحْلَة

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbiː/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: bee

Inherited from Old English: bēo

Cognate with Danish: bøn

Cognate with Dutch: ban

Cognate with German: Bann

Inherited from Old English: be

Inherited from Old English: bēah

In summary

From Middle English bee, from Old English bēo (“bee”), from Proto-West Germanic *bijā, from Proto-Germanic *bijǭ (“bee”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰey- (“bee”).
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian bij (“bee”), Dutch bij, by (“bee”), German Biene (“bee”), Limburgish Bé, bie (“bee”), Luxembourgish Bei (“bee”), Vilamovian byn (“bee”), West Flemish bieë (“bee”), Yiddish בין (bin, “bee”), Danish, Swedish bi (“bee”), Faroese býfluga (“bee”), Icelandic bý, býfluga (“bee”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk bie (“bee”).

Sentences

The alarm pheromone emitted when a bee stings another animal smells like bananas .