hornet

Meaning

1. A large wasp, of the genus Vespa, having a brown-and-yellow-striped body and the ability to inflict a serious sting.
2. A person who pesters with petty but ceaseless attacks.

Synonyms

wasp

bee

🐝

yellow jacket

European hornet

paper wasp

bumblebee

yellowjacket

giant hornet

big

brown hornet

old world hornet

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhɔː.nɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: hernet

Inherited from Old English: hyrnetu

Cognate with German: Hornisse

Cognate with Dutch: horzel

Cognate with Welsh: creyryn

Cognate with Latin: crābrō

Cognate with Lithuanian: širšė

Cognate with Church Slavic: сръшень

Cognate with Albanian: grerë

In summary

From Middle English hernet, from Old English hyrnetu, hyrnete, from Proto-West Germanic *hurnutu, from Proto-Germanic *hurznutō (compare German Hornisse), alteration of Proto-Germanic *hursulǭ (compare Dutch horzel), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂sro- (“hornet”, literally “the one with horns (antennae)”), from *ḱerh₂- (“horn”) (compare Welsh creyryn (“gadfly”), Latin crābrō (“hornet”), Lithuanian širšė (“wasp”), Old Church Slavonic сръшень (srŭšenĭ, “hornet”), Albanian grerë, grenzë (“wasp, hornet”)).