English - Etymology 6

Probably from an Old English word meaning "ring". See bow.

Noun

bee (plural bees)

1. (nautical, chiefly plural) Any of the pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through.

Synonyms

• bee block

English - Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: bē, IPA^(key): /biː/
• Rhymes: -iː
• Homophones: b, be, Bea

English - Etymology 1

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”)).

Noun

bee (plural bees)

1. A flying insect, of the superfamily Apoidea, known for its organised societies and for collecting pollen and producing wax and honey.
   • 1499, John Skelton, The Bowge of Courte:

     His face was belymmed as byes had him stounge […].

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.12:

     An angry Wasp th'one in a viall had, / Th'other in hers an hony-laden Bee.

   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12:

     Can there be a more formall, and better ordered policie, divided into so severall charges and offices, more constantly entertained, and better maintained, than that of Bees?

   • 2012, ‘Subtle poison’, The Economist, 31 March:

     Bees pollinate many of the world’s crops—a service estimated to be worth $15 billion a year in America alone.

Derived terms

Synonyms

• (flying insect of the order Hymenoptera): king of insects

Translations

See also

English - Etymology 2

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 *bʰeh₂- (“to say, speak”). Cognate with Danish bøn (“prayer”), Dutch ban (“curse”), German Bann (“ban”). More at ban.

Noun

bee (plural bees)

1. A contest, especially for spelling; see spelling bee.

   geography bee

2. A gathering for a specific purpose, e.g. a sewing bee or a quilting bee.
   • S. G. Goodrich

     The cellar […] was dug by a bee in a single day.

   • 2011, Tim Blanning, "The reinvention of the night", Times Literary Supplement, 21 Sep 2011:

     Particularly resistant, for example, in many parts of northern Europe was the “spinning bee”, a nocturnal gathering of women to exchange gossip, stories, refreshment and – crucially – light and heat, as they spun wool or flax, knitted or sewed.

Translations

English - Etymology 3

(Northern development of) Old English bēah.

Noun

bee (plural bees)

1. (obsolete) A ring or torque; a bracelet.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VII:

     And Kynge Arthure gaff hir a ryche bye of golde; and so she departed.

   • 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial, Penguin 2005, page 16:

     ...restoring unto the world much gold richly adorning his Sword, two hundred Rubies, many hundred Imperial Coynes, three hundred golden Bees, the bones and horseshoe of his horse enterred with him...

English - Etymology 4

Variant spellings.

Verb

bee

1. obsolete spelling of be
   • 1604 Reverend Cawdrey Table Aleph

     held that a ‘Nicholaitan is an heretike, like Nicholas, who held that wiues should bee common to all alike.’

2. (obsolete) past participle of be; been

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

English - Etymology 5

Noun

bee (plural bees)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter B/b.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee/zed ^{(Category: en:Latin letter names)}

Translations

English - References

1. ^ http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/enntry/bee
2. ^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bee%5B3%5D

Estonian - Noun

bee (genitive [please provide], partitive [please provide])

1. The name of the Latin-script letter B/b.

Finnish - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeː/
• Rhymes: -eː

Finnish - Noun

bee

1. bee (The name of the Latin-script letter B/b.)

Declension

Usage notes

• Speakers often use the corresponding forms of b-kirjain ("letter B, letter b") instead of inflecting this word, especially in plural.

Synonyms

• b-kirjain

Latin - Interjection

bee!

1. baa (sound of a sheep)

Mandinka - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beː/

Mandinka - Noun

bee

1. (anatomy) vagina

Manx - Noun

bee m

1. food
   • bee ny jeeghyn, ambrosia
   • bee millish, sweetmeat, sweet
   • bee moddee, dog food
2. provisions
3. nourishment
4. diet

Mutation

Manx - Verb

bee

1. future tense of ve (to be)
2. imperative of ve

Navajo - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [beː]

Navajo - Postposition

bee

1. with, by means of, by means of it

Inflection

Old Irish - Verb

bee

1. second-person singular present subjunctive absolute of at·tá

Tetum - Etymology

From Proto-Central Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Tetum - Alternative Forms

• wee (Tetun-Terik)

Tetum - Noun

bee

1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

Võro - Noun

bee (genitive [please provide], partitive [please provide])

1. The name of the Latin-script letter B/b.

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Rhyme