drone

Meaning

Noun

1. A male ant, bee, or wasp, which does not work but can fertilize the queen.
2. (archaic) One who does not work; a lazy person, an idler.
3. One who performs menial or tedious work.
4. A remotely operated vehicle.
5. A remotely operated vehicle.
6. (Uganda) A Toyota HiAce or a similar van, especially one used by Ugandan state agents to kidnap opposition members.
7. (derogatory, slang) One who lacks the ability to think critically and independently, especially one who follows a group blindly; a non-player character.
8. In dronification kink, one who is mindless and obedient to a dominant, characterized by a detached and robotic identity and an anonymous appearance, typically composed of a latex suit and gas mask.

Verb

To kill or destroy with a missile fired by unmanned aircraft.

Verb

1. To produce a low-pitched hum or buzz.
2. To speak in a monotone.

Synonyms

hum

buzz

whirr

roar

purr

male bee

whir

murmur

rumble

make noise

hiss

sigh

radio-controlled aircraft

laggard

parasite

sponger

pilotless aircraft

drone pipe

whiz

boom

💥

bee

🐝

bourdon

bumblebee

clatter

dawdler

drone on

droning

honeybee

🐝

idler

loafer

monotone

mutter

nasalize

poke

rustle

sluggard

trailer

whizz

worker bee

lagger

laborer

kelp

drone aircraft

jingle

rattle

reverberate

ring

💍

idle

howl

churr

Translations

Drohne

faux bourdon

fuco

zangão

drone

zángano

κηφήνας

bourdonnement

dar

zumbido

brommen

vrombir

faux-bourdon

dröhnen

💥

Pronounced as (IPA)

/dɹəʊn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: drane

Inherited from Old English: drān

Cognate with Dutch: dar

Cognate with Low German: drone

Cognate with German: Drohne

Cognate with German: Dräne

Cognate with Danish: drone

Cognate with Swedish: drönje

Inherited from Middle English: drounen

Cognate with Scots: drune

Cognate with Dutch: dreunen

Cognate with Low German: drönen

Cognate with German: dröhnen

Cognate with Danish: drøne

Cognate with Swedish: dröna

Cognate with Icelandic: drynja

In summary

From Middle English drane, from Old English drān, from Proto-West Germanic *drānu, from Proto-Germanic *drēniz, *drēnuz, *drenô (“an insect, drone”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreh₁n- (“bee, drone, hornet”). Cognate with Danish drone (“drone”), Dutch dar (“male bee or wasp”), German Drohne, dialectal German Dräne, Trehne, Trene (“drone”), Low German drone (“drone”), Swedish drönje, drönare (“drone”).
The etymology of the sense of "remote-controlled aircraft" is disputed; theories include early military UAVs dumbly flying on preset paths.