bee

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "bee"

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has articles on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

A bee

From Middle English bee, from Old English bēo, 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.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
terms derived from bee (noun)
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.
    • S. G. Goodrich
      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, 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[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

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.

Noun[edit]

bee (plural bees)

  2. (obsolete) A ring or torque; a bracelet.
    • 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...

Etymology 4[edit]

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.
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 title of the work)‎[1], accessed 4 March 2012, 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/
  • 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: bee

Noun[edit]

bee

  1. bee (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
instructive — bein
abessive beettä beittä
comitative — beineen
Possessive forms of bee (type maa)
possessor singular plural
1st person beeni beemme
2nd person beesi beenne
3rd person beensä

Synonyms[edit]

Fula[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Alternative forms[edit]

Particle[edit]

bee

  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)

See also[edit]

Latin[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

bee

  1. baa (sound of a sheep)

References[edit]

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

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

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]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Preposition[edit]

bee

  1. by

References[edit]

  • Jacob Poole (1867), 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, page 25
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