hiveful

English

Etymology

From hive +‎ -ful.

Noun

hiveful (plural hivefuls)

1. The amount contained in a hive.
   • 1921, Kermit Roosevelt, Quentin Roosevelt: A Sketch with Letters, page 54:

     We are arranging for the storing and unpacking of all the equipment, — and as it ranges from rock crushers to flash lights, — and has all to be listed, checked with an invoice from the states, — stored according to classification and then cross indexed in a filing system, I am as busy as several hivefuls of bees.

   • 1987, U.C. Chopra, The Amazing World of Insects:

     The 37,000 bee loads per pound result in a total bee mileage of about 30,000—or twice around the globe—for a hiveful of bees making their average about 100 pounds of honey in a season.