Bee Definition

bees
noun
Any of a large superfamily (Apoidea) of broad-bodied, four-winged, hairy hymenopteran insects that gather pollen and nectar, have biting as well as sucking mouthparts, and often live in organized colonies; esp., the honeybee.
Webster's New World
A social gathering where people combine work, competition, and amusement.
A quilting bee.
American Heritage
A meeting of people to work together or to compete.
A sewing bee, spelling bee.
Webster's New World
A bee block.
American Heritage
A piece of wood on each side of the bowsprit of a ship, used for fastening stays from the mast or foremast.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
verb

Obsolete spelling of be.

Wiktionary

(obsolete) Past participle of be; been.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:
idiom
a bee in (one's) bonnet
  • An impulse to do something; a notion.
  • An obsession.
American Heritage
have a bee in one's bonnet
  • to be obsessed with one idea
  • to be not quite sane
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Bee

Noun

Singular:
bee
Plural:
bees

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Bee

  • a bee in (one's) bonnet
  • have a bee in one's bonnet

Origin of Bee

  • Possibly from dialectal English bene, been, bean (“help given by neighbours”), from Middle English been, bene (“neighbourly help, prayer, petition, request, extra service given by a tenant to his lord”), from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, petition, favour, compulsory service”) from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“prayer, request, supplication”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- (“to say, speak”). Cognate with Danish bøn (“prayer”), Dutch ban (“curse”), German Bann (“ban”). More at ban.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English bee, from Old English bēo, from Proto-Germanic *bijō (compare West Frisian and Dutch bij, Upper German Beie, Danish and Swedish bi), from Proto-Indo-European *bʱi- (compare Old Irish bech (“bee”), Welsh bydaf (“beehive”), Latin fūcus (“drone”), Latvian bite (“bee”), Russian пчела (pčelá, “bee”)).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old English bēo 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 bhā-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English be a ring from Old English bēag bheug- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Variant spellings.

    From Wiktionary

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