honey
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See also: Honey
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English hony, honi, from Old English huniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hunag, from Proto-Germanic *hunagą (compare West Frisian hunich, German Honig), from earlier *hunangą (compare Swedish honung), from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂onk-o-s, from *kn̥h₂ónks.
Cognate with Middle Welsh canecon (“gold”), Latin canicae pl (“bran”), Tocharian B kronkśe (“bee”), Albanian qengjë (“beehive”), Ancient Greek κνῆκος (knêkos, “safflower”), Northern Kurdish şan (“beehive”), Northern Luri گونج (gonj, “Bee”), Finnish hunaja.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
honey (usually uncountable, plural honeys or (archaic) honies)
- (uncountable) A viscous, sweet fluid produced from plant nectar by bees. Often used to sweeten tea or to spread on baked goods.
- The honey in the pot should last for years.
- (countable) A variety of this substance.
- 1908, United States. Bureau of Chemistry, Bulletin[1], numbers 110-114:
- The physical properties of the different honeys, color, granulation, aroma, flavor, etc., are indicated in the table only in a very general way.
- 1949, Roy A. Grout, editor, The Hive and the Honey Bee[2]:
- If two of the California honeys, western hyssop and fleabane, having a positive polarization at 200 C. are disregarded, then the remaining...
- 2011, Stephen Taylor, Advances in Food and Nutrition Research[3], volume 62:
- Eucalyptus honeys could be characterized based on seven volatile compounds, whereas lavender honeys had only five...
- (rare) Nectar.
- (figurative) Something sweet or desirable.
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], lines 91–93:
- O my love, my wife! / Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath / Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.
- 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- the honey of his language
- A term of affection.
- Honey, would you take out the trash?
- Honey, I'm home.
- 2013 July 30, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013:
- "So far, so good... are you doing okay?" "Flying... is awesome!" "Focus, honey."
- (countable, informal) A woman, especially an attractive one.
- Man, there are some fine honeys here tonight!
- 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World/Ballantine Books, page 130:
- College was wild. I was like a happy little white kid playing in a sandbox full of toys. Honeys, basketball, music, I indulged in all of that shit to the max. And oh yeah. I went to a couple of classes too. I wasn't totally ass-out stupid.
- A spectrum of pale yellow to brownish-yellow colour, like that of most types of (the sweet substance) honey.
- honey:
Synonyms[edit]
- (sweet fluid from bees): mel
- (term of affection): darling, sweetie, see also Thesaurus:sweetheart
Hypernyms[edit]
Hyponyms[edit]
Hyponyms of honey (noun)
Derived terms[edit]
- bees and honey
- crested honey buzzard
- dip me in honey and throw me to the lesbians
- don't get your honey where you make your money
- European honey buzzard
- hip-hop honey
- honey ant
- honey barge
- honey bee
- honey bunny
- honey butter
- honey buzzard
- honey cart
- honey catches more flies than vinegar
- honey chile
- honey-colored
- honey do list
- honey-do list
- honey fund
- honey house
- honey joys
- honey kite
- honey-lotus
- honey lotus
- honey-month
- honey moon
- honey-mouthed
- honey mushroom
- honey mustard
- honey oil
- honey-plant
- honey possum
- honey pot
- honey pot ant
- honey-pot ant
- honey shot
- honey-tongued
- honey-trap
- honey wagon
- honey weasel
- honey wine
- mad honey
- manuka honey
- pour honey in one's ear
- pour honey into one's ear
- sour honey
- sugar honey ice tea
- thornless honey locust
- virgin honey
- you attract more flies with honey than vinegar
- you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar
- you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
- you catch more flies with honey than vinegar
- you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
Descendants[edit]
Translations[edit]
sweet substance produced by bees
|
variety of honey
|
something sweet or desirable
term of affection — see also darling
|
informal: attractive woman
colour
Adjective[edit]
honey (not comparable)
- Involving or resembling honey.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
- So work the honey-bees, / Creatures that by a rule in nature teach / The act of order to a peopled kingdom.
- Of a pale yellow to brownish-yellow colour, like most types of honey.
Translations[edit]
involving or resembling honey
honey-colored
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb[edit]
honey (third-person singular simple present honeys, present participle honeying, simple past and past participle honeyed)
- (transitive) To sweeten; to make agreeable.
- (transitive) To add honey to.
- (intransitive) To be gentle, agreeable, or coaxing; to talk fondly; to use endearments.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:
- Honeying and making love.
- (intransitive) To be or become obsequiously courteous or complimentary; to fawn.
- 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Prologue”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 6:
- [O]ne / Discuss'd his tutor, rough to common men / But honeying at the whisper of a lord; / And one the Master, as a rogue in grain / Veneer'd with sanctimonious theory.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Related terms
See also[edit]
other entries of interest
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- en:Yellows
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