beeswax

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbizwæks/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Etymology

Beeswax

From bees + 's + wax

Noun

beeswax (usually uncountable, plural beeswaxes)

1. A wax secreted by bees from which they make honeycomb; or, the processed form of this wax used in the manufacture of various goods.
2. (colloquial, mildly humorous) “Business”, as in such phrases as mind your own beeswax and none of your beeswax.

Derived terms

• mind your own beeswax

Synonyms

• E901 (when used as a glazing agent)

Translations

wax secreted by bees

• Armenian: մեղրամոմ (hy) (mełramom)
• Bulgarian: пчелен восък (pčelen vosǎk)
• Catalan: cera d'abelles f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蜜蠟 (zh), 蜜蜡 (zh) (mìlà)

• Classical Nahuatl: xīcohcuitlatl
• Crimean Tatar: balavuz
• Czech: včelí vosk m
• Danish: bivoks (da)
• Dupaningan Agta: lilen
• Dutch: bijenwas (nl) m
• Esperanto: abelvakso
• Estonian: mesilasvaha
• Finnish: mehiläisvaha (fi)
• French: cire d'abeille (fr) f
• German: Bienenwachs (de) n
• Greek: μελισσόκηρος m (melissókiros), μελισσοκέρι (el) n (melissokéri)
• Hungarian: méhviasz (hu)
• Icelandic: bývax n
• Italian: cera d'api
• Japanese: 蜜蝋 (みつろう, mitsurō)
• Khmer: ក្រមួនឃ្មុំ (kror moun khmom)
• Korean: 밀랍 (ko) (millap)

• Latin: cera f
• Latvian: vasks (lv) m
• Malay: lilin lebah
• Navajo: tsísʼná bijeeh
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bivoks m, n

  Nynorsk: bivoks m, n

• Persian: موم‎ (fa) (mum)
• Polish: wosk pszczeli m inan
• Portuguese: cera de abelha f
• Romanian: ceară de albine (ro) f
• Russian: пчели́ный воск m (pčelínyj vosk)
• Scottish Gaelic: cèir f, cèir-sheillean f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: восковаринa f, пчелињи восак m

  Latin: voskovarina (sh) f, pčelinji vosak m

• Slovak: včelí vosk m
• Spanish: cera de abeja f
• Swedish: bivax (sv) n
• Tagalog: pagkit
• Turkish: balmumu (tr)
• Vietnamese: sáp ong, lạp (vi)
• Volapük: bienaväk (vo)

Verb

beeswax (third-person singular simple present beeswaxes, present participle beeswaxing, simple past and past participle beeswaxed)

1. To polish (something) with beeswax.