bee

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "bee"

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

A bee

From Middle English bee, from Old English bēo, from Proto-West Germanic *bijā, from Proto-Germanic *bijō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰey-.

Noun[edit]

bee (plural bees or (dialectal) been)

  1. A flying insect, of the clade Anthophila within the hymenopteran superfamily Apoidea, known for its organised societies (though only a minority have them), for collecting pollen and (in some species) producing wax and honey.
    • 1499, John Skelton, The Bowge of Courte:
      His face was belymmed as byes had him stounge […].
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
      An angry Wasp th'one in a viall had, / Th'other in hers an hony-laden Bee.
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
      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?
    • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 17:
      Ariell: / Where the Bee ſucks, there ſuck I, / In a Cowslips bell, I lie, / There I cowch when Owles doe crie, / On the Batts backe I doe flie / after Sommer merrily. / Merrily, merrily, ſhall I liue now / Vnder the bloſſom that hangs on the Bow.
    • 1657, Samuel Purchas, “The Excellency of Bees”, in A Theatre of Politicall Flying-Insects. […], London: […] R. I. for Thomas Parkhurst, […], →OCLC, page 1:
      Bees are the moſt excellent of all Inſects vvhatſoever, and expreſſe both vvorth and vvonder in all their vvaies: […]
    • 2012 March 31, “Subtle poison”, in The Economist:
      Bees pollinate many of the world’s crops—a service estimated to be worth $15 billion a year in America alone.
Synonyms[edit]
Hypernyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Possibly from dialectal 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”),[1][2] from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, petition, favour, compulsory service”), from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“prayer, request, supplication”). Thus a variant of obsolete ben (“prayer; petition”) and doublet of boon. Cognate with Danish bøn (“prayer”), Dutch ban (“curse”), German Bann (“ban”). More at ban.

Noun[edit]

bee (plural bees)

  2. A contest, especially for spelling; see spelling bee.
    geography bee
  4. A community gathering to share labour, e.g. a sewing bee or a quilting bee.
    • 1856, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Recollections of a Lifetime:
      The cellar […] was dug by a bee in a single day.
    • 1973, Alan Skeoch, Tony H. Smith, Canadians and their society, page 139:
      There was but little variation in types of buildings in the pioneer period: house, church, store, barn and mill were usually much alike except in size, and a raising bee was the ordinary means of their erection.
    • 2011 September 21, Tim Blanning, “The reinvention of the night”, in Times Literary Supplement:
      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.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle English beeȝ, bie, bei, begh, beiȝe, bege, beah, bye, from Old English bēah, bēag, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz. Doublet of beag, a learned borrowing; and of bagel.

Noun[edit]

bee (plural bees)

  2. (obsolete) A ring or torque; a bracelet.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Caxton, Book 7, Chapter xxxv:
      And kyng Arthur gaf her a ryche bee of gold and soo she departed
    • 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial, Penguin, published 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...

Etymology 4[edit]

A user suggests that this English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “Example is not a use of the past participle.”
Please see the discussion on Requests for cleanup(+) or the talk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.

Variant spellings.

Verb[edit]

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
    Cride out, Now now Sir knight, shew what ye bee,

Etymology 5[edit]

From Middle English [Term?], from Old English be, from Latin be (the name of the letter B).

Noun[edit]

bee (plural bees)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter B.
    • 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:
      "The ee-vee-ee-ar-en-oh-ee-ell-blank-bee-ell-oh-ess-ess-oh-em-blank-en-ee-cee-tee-ay-ar is especially dee-ee-ell-eye-cee-eye-oh-you-ess." Our friends thanked the spelling bee for his help and then he buzzed off.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Etymology 6[edit]

Probably from Old English bēah (“ring”). Compare bow.

Noun[edit]

bee (plural bees)

  1. (nautical, usually in the plural) Any of the pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through.
Synonyms[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “Archived copy”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎[1], 2012 March 4 (last accessed), archived from the original on 16 June 2012
  2. ^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bee%5B3%5D

Anagrams[edit]

Afar[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈbeː/, [ˈbeː]
  • Hyphenation: bee

Verb[edit]

bée (autobenefactive beeté)

  1. (transitive) to take
  2. (transitive) to take away
  3. (transitive, + l-case) to overcome
  4. (transitive, + l-case) to be angry with

Conjugation[edit]

    Conjugation of bee (type II verb)
1st singular 2nd singular 3rd singular 1st plural 2nd plural 3rd plural
m f
perfective V-affirmative béeh beytéh béeh beytéh beynéh beyteeníh beeníh
N-affirmative bée beyté bée beyté beyné beytén béen
negative mábeyinniyo mábeyinnito mábeyinna mábeyinna mábeyinnino mábeyinniton mábeyinnon
imperfective V-affirmative beyáh beytáh beyáh beytáh beynáh beytaanáh beyaanáh
N-affirmative beyá beytá beyá beytá beyná beytán beyán
negative mábeya mábeyta mábeya mábeyta mábeyna mábeytan mábeyan
prospective V-affirmative béeliyoh
béeyyoh		 béelitoh
béettoh		 béeleh béeleh béelinoh
béennoh		 béelitoonuh
béettoonuh		 béeloonuh
N-affirmative béeliyo
béeyyo		 béelito
béetto		 béele béele béelino
béenno		 béeliton
béetton		 béelon
conjunctive I V-affirmative béyuh béyuh béyuh béyuh béyuh beytóonuh beyóonuh
N-affirmative béyu béyu béyu béyu béyu beytón beyón
negative bée wáyuh bée wáytuh bée wáyuh bée wáytuh bée wáynuh bée waytóonuh bée wóonuh
conjunctive II V-affirmative beyánkeh beytánkeh beyánkeh beytánkeh beynánkeh beytaanánkeh beyaanánkeh
N-affirmative beyánke beytánke beyánke beytánke beynánke beytaanánke beyaanánke
negative bée wáankeh bée waytánkeh bée wáankeh bée waytánkeh bée waynánkeh bée waytaanánkeh bée wáankeh
jussive affirmative béyay béyay béyay béyay béyay beytóonay beyóonay
negative bée wáay bée wáytay bée wáay bée wáytay bée wáynay bée waytóonay bée wóonay
past
conditional 		affirmative beyinniyóy beyinnitóy beyinnáy beyinnáy beyinninóy beyinnitoonúy beyinnoonúy
negative bée wanniyóy bée wannitóy bée wannáy bée wannáy bée wanninóy bée wannitoonúy bée wanninoonúy
present
conditional I 		affirmative béek beyték béek beyték beynék beyteeník beeník
negative bée wéek bée wayték bée wéek bée wayték bée waynék bée wayteeník bée weeník
singular plural singular plural
consultative affirmative beyóo beynóo imperative affirmative béy béya
negative mabeyóo mabeynóo negative mábeyin mábeyina
-h converb -i form -k converb -in(n)uh converb -innuk converb infinitive indefinite participle
V-focus N-focus
béyah béyi béyak beyínnuh beyínnuk beyíyya beyináanih beyináan
Compound tenses
past perfect affirmative perfective + perfective of én or sugé
present perfect affirmative perfective + imperfective of én
future perfect affirmative perfective + prospective of sugé
past progressive -k converb + imperfective of én or sugé
present progressive affirmative imperfect + imperfective of én
future progressive -k converb + prospective of sugé
immediate future affirmative conjunctive I + imperfective of wée
imperfect potential I affirmative conjunctive I + imperfective of takké
imperfect
potential II 		affirmative imperfective + -m + takké
negative bée + imperfective of wée + -m + takké
perfect
potential 		affirmative perfective + -m + takké
negative bée + perfective of wée + -m + takké
present
conditional II 		affirmative imperfective + object pronoun + tekkék
negative bée + perfective of wée + object pronoun + tekkék
perfect
conditional 		affirmative perfective + imperfective of sugé + -k
negative perfective + sugé + imperfective of wée -k
irrealis bée + perfective of xaaxé or raaré

References[edit]

  • E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “bee”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
  • Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎[2], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Aiwoo[edit]

Verb[edit]

bee

  1. (intransitive) to grow

References[edit]

Aukan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English belly.

Noun[edit]

bee

  1. belly, stomach
  2. uterus, womb
  3. pregnancy
  4. lineage, family line

References[edit]

Dumbea[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bee

  1. fish

References[edit]

Estonian[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

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

Finnish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bē.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈbeː/, [ˈbe̞ː]
  • Rhymes: -eː
  • Syllabification(key): bee

Noun[edit]

bee

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

Usage notes[edit]

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

Declension[edit]

Inflection of bee (Kotus type 18/maa, no gradation)
nominative bee beet
genitive been beiden
beitten
partitive beetä beitä
illative beehen beihin
singular plural
nominative bee beet
accusative nom. bee beet
gen. been
genitive been beiden
beitten
partitive beetä beitä
inessive beessä beissä
elative beestä beistä
illative beehen beihin
adessive beellä beillä
ablative beeltä beiltä
allative beelle beille
essive beenä beinä
translative beeksi beiksi
abessive beettä beittä
instructive — bein
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of bee (Kotus type 18/maa, no gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative beeni beeni
accusative nom. beeni beeni
gen. beeni
genitive beeni beideni
beitteni
partitive beetäni beitäni
inessive beessäni beissäni
elative beestäni beistäni
illative beeheni beihini
adessive beelläni beilläni
ablative beeltäni beiltäni
allative beelleni beilleni
essive beenäni beinäni
translative beekseni beikseni
abessive beettäni beittäni
instructive — —
comitative — beineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative beesi beesi
accusative nom. beesi beesi
gen. beesi
genitive beesi beidesi
beittesi
partitive beetäsi beitäsi
inessive beessäsi beissäsi
elative beestäsi beistäsi
illative beehesi beihisi
adessive beelläsi beilläsi
ablative beeltäsi beiltäsi
allative beellesi beillesi
essive beenäsi beinäsi
translative beeksesi beiksesi
abessive beettäsi beittäsi
instructive — —
comitative — beinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative beemme beemme
accusative nom. beemme beemme
gen. beemme
genitive beemme beidemme
beittemme
partitive beetämme beitämme
inessive beessämme beissämme
elative beestämme beistämme
illative beehemme beihimme
adessive beellämme beillämme
ablative beeltämme beiltämme
allative beellemme beillemme
essive beenämme beinämme
translative beeksemme beiksemme
abessive beettämme beittämme
instructive — —
comitative — beinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative beenne beenne
accusative nom. beenne beenne
gen. beenne
genitive beenne beidenne
beittenne
partitive beetänne beitänne
inessive beessänne beissänne
elative beestänne beistänne
illative beehenne beihinne
adessive beellänne beillänne
ablative beeltänne beiltänne
allative beellenne beillenne
essive beenänne beinänne
translative beeksenne beiksenne
abessive beettänne beittänne
instructive — —
comitative — beinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative beensä beensä
accusative nom. beensä beensä
gen. beensä
genitive beensä beidensä
beittensä
partitive beetään
beetänsä 		beitään
beitänsä
inessive beessään
beessänsä 		beissään
beissänsä
elative beestään
beestänsä 		beistään
beistänsä
illative beehensä beihinsä
adessive beellään
beellänsä 		beillään
beillänsä
ablative beeltään
beeltänsä 		beiltään
beiltänsä
allative beelleen
beellensä 		beilleen
beillensä
essive beenään
beenänsä 		beinään
beinänsä
translative beekseen
beeksensä 		beikseen
beiksensä
abessive beettään
beettänsä 		beittään
beittänsä
instructive — —
comitative — beineen
beinensä

Synonyms[edit]

Fula[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Particle[edit]

bee (Pular)

  1. it must, it is necessary that
    iggey yimbe bee bonnii taariinde nde no feewi.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Dialectal variants[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Hadza[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

bee f pl (masc. bami, masc. plural bii, fem. bôko)

  1. they (fem. or mixed gender)

Related terms[edit]

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

An onomatopoeia.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈbɛɛ]
  • Hyphenation: bee
  • Rhymes: -ɛ

Interjection[edit]

bee

  1. baa (sound of a sheep)
  2. (childish) a word expressing bragging and mockery between children

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • bee in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)

Latin[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Of imitative origin

Interjection[edit]

bee

  1. baa (sound of a sheep)
    • 116 BCE – 27 BCE, Marcus Terentius Varro, De Re Rustica 2.1.7, (The spelling "be" is also read in this passage[1]):
      nec multo secus nostri ab eadem voce, sed ab alia litera. vox earum non me, sed bee sonare videtur.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Heinrich Keil, editor (1884), M. Terenti Varronis Rervm rvsticarvm libri tres, volume 1, Leipzig: Teubner, page 136

Further reading[edit]

  • “bee”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • bee in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Mandinka[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bee

  1. (anatomy) vagina

Manx[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Irish bíad (“food”). Cognate with Irish bia and Scottish Gaelic biadh.

Noun[edit]

bee m (genitive singular bee, plural beeghyn)

  1. food
  2. provisions
  3. nourishment
  4. diet
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb[edit]

bee

  1. inflection of ve:
    1. future
    2. second-person singular imperative

Mutation[edit]

Manx mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
bee vee mee
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Middle English[edit]

bee

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English bēo, from Proto-West Germanic *biju, from Proto-Germanic *bijō.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bee (plural been or bees)

  1. A bee (insect that collects pollen)
    • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Summoner's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 1693–1696:
      Right so as bees out swarmen from an hyve, / Out of the develes ers ther gonne dryve / Twenty thousand freres on a route / And thurghout helle swarmed al aboute...
      Just like bees swarm from a hive / Out of the devil's arse there were driven / Twenty thousand friars on a rout / And throughout hell they swarmed all about...

Descendants[edit]

  • English: bee
  • Scots: bee, be, beye, bie, bea
  • Yola: been (plural)

References[edit]

Navajo[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Postposition[edit]

bee

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

Inflection[edit]

Navajo postpositions
singular duoplural
1st person shee nihee
2nd person nee nihee
3rd person bee
4th person (3o) yee
4th person (3a) hee
4th person (3i) ee —
reflexive ádee —
reciprocal — ahee

Old Irish[edit]

Verb[edit]

bee

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

Romanian[edit]

Interjection[edit]

bee

  1. Obsolete form of behehe.

References[edit]

  • bee in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

San Juan Guelavía Zapotec[edit]

Noun[edit]

bee

  1. ant

References[edit]

  • López Antonio, Joaquín, Jones, Ted, Jones, Kris (2012) Vocabulario breve del Zapoteco de San Juan Guelavía‎[3] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Tlalpan, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 13, 25

Saterland Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Frisian bēthe, from Proto-Germanic *bai (“both”) + *sa (“the”). Cognates include West Frisian beide and German beide.

Pronunciation[edit]

Determiner[edit]

bee

  1. both

Pronoun[edit]

bee

  1. both

Usage notes[edit]

  • When used pronominally referring to two people (rather than objects or animals), the plural beeën is used.

References[edit]

  • Marron C. Fort (2015) “bee”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Swahili[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

bee

  1. Alternative form of abee

Tetum[edit]

bee

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

bee

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

Võro[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

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

Inflection[edit]

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Yola[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English by, be, from Old English bi, from Proto-West Germanic *bī. Cognates include English by and Scots by.

Alternative forms[edit]

Preposition[edit]

bee

  1. by[1]

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

bee

  1. Alternative form of ba (“to be”)
    • 1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, lines 15[2]:
      Maa bee haghed i more caar an angish than Ich."
      May be upset in more care and hardship than I."
    • 1927, “ZONG O DHREE YOLA MYTHENS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 131, lines 13[2]:
      Wu canna gow bee chapaal gaat,
      We cannot go to the chapel gate
  2. Alternative form of ba (“are”)
    • 1927, “ZONG O DHREE YOLA MYTHENS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 131, lines 1[2]:
      Haar wee bee dhree yola mydes,
      Here we are three old maids,
  3. Alternative form of ba (“was”)
    • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 21-23[1]:
      Ye pace——yea, we mai zei, ye vaste pace whilke bee ee-stent owr ye londe zince th'ast ee-cam,
      The peace——yes, we may say the profound peace—which overspreads the land since your arrival,

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 25
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kathleen A. Browne (1927) The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Sixth Series, Vol.17 No.2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
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