bee

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“
A Norfolk doctor declares that the sting of a bee is a most effective cure for both rheumatism and sciatica.

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Definitions (31)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (8)

  1. noun Any of several winged, hairy-bodied, usually stinging insects of the superfamily Apoidea in the order Hymenoptera, including both solitary and social species and characterized by sucking and chewing mouthparts for gathering nectar and pollen.
  2. noun A bumblebee.
  3. noun A honeybee.
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Examples (50)

  • I would have to examine it under an electron microscope, but I have the feeling there's a miniature television camera in there In other words," said Smith, "the bee is a combination of flying spy and assassin in a single package This bee can do anything an ordinary bee can do except pollinate flowers. —  Destroyer 107: Feast or Famine
  • Bar-bee is a versatile artist as the style in her songs differs greatly. —  Jammin Reggae Archives
  • Bar-bee is dressed elegantly sexy in every take adding a seductive edge to the scenes. ‘Love You Anyway†™ and the accompanying video are sure to cement in any nay-sayers mind that Bar-bee is here to stay. —  Jammin Reggae Archives
  • "We were all surprised to find that the bee was actually in need of substantial repair," said Seabee Museum Director Lara Godbille, who along with several Seabees, prepared the bee for the journey to Washington. —  San Diego's Official Navy Newspaper - Navy Compass
  • The bee - industrious, focused and tireless the bee is renowned for its role as a pollinator, facilitating exchanges to create new growth. —  Renewable Energy News - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

insect ·  ant ·  bird ·  butterfly ·  snake ·  fly ·  rat ·  beetle ·  spider ·  bug ·  worm ·  lizard

Used in the same contextWord Family

bee:   bees
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English, from Old English bēo; see bhei- in Indo-European roots. Sense 2, perhaps alteration of dialectal bean, voluntary help given to a farmer by his neighbors, from Middle English bene, extra service by a tenant to his lord, from Old English bēn, prayer; see bhā-2 in Indo-European roots.
  2. Middle English be, a ring, from Old English bēag; see bheug- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English also be, plural bees and been, from Middle English bee, plural been, from Anglo-Saxon beó, also bī, plural beón, = Old Dutch bie, Dutch bij, bije = Low German bigge = Old High German bīa, German dial. beie = Icelandic by¯, generally in comp. by¯-flygi, by¯-fluga (‘bee-fly’), = Swedish Danish bi; also with added -n, Old High German bīna, Middle High German bīn, feminine, Old High German bini, neuter, Middle High German bine, bin, German biene, feminine (cf. Lithuanian bitis, a bee); supposed to come, through the notions ‘fear, tremble, quiver, buzz, hum’ (cf. bumblebee and drone), from the root *bi (= Sanskrit √ bhī, Old Bulgarian bojati = Russian bojatĭ = Lithuanian bijoti, etc.), fear, which appears redupl. in Anglo-Saxon beofian = Old Saxon bibhōn = Old High German bibēn, Middle High German biben, German beben = Icelandic bifa, tremble.
  2. Prop. North. English dial., for reg. English *by or *bigh (cf. high, nigh, of like phonetic relations), from Middle English by, bye, bie, beghe, behz. bez, beh, from Anglo-Saxon beáh, beág (= Old Saxon bōg, bāg = Old High German bouc = Icelandic baugr), a ring, especially as an ornament, from būgan (preterit beáh), English bow, bend; cf. bow, a bend, an arch, and bail, a hoop, from the same source: see bow.
 

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