colmena

Spanish

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *culmēna, feminine of *culmēnus, from Latin culmus (“stalk; straw”). Alternatively of Celtic origin, from putative Proto-Celtic *kolmēnā, from *kŏlmos (“straw”). Compare Portuguese colmeia and Galician colmea.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Colombia):

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Noun

colmena f (plural colmenas)

1. beehive

Derived terms

• colmenar (“apiary”)
• colmenero (“beekeeper”)
• colmenilla

Descendants

• → Central Tarahumara: kolimena
• → Tetelcingo Nahuatl: cormiena, colmiena

Further reading

• “colmena”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014