apiary
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of apiary
1645–55; < Latin apiārium beehive, equivalent to api ( s ) bee + -ārium -ary
Explanation
An apiary is a structure for keeping bees. If you love to eat fresh honey and don't have access to a farmer's market, you might consider building an apiary in your backyard. Apiaries have nothing to do with apes! Rather, the word derives from apis, the Latin word for "bee." Humans have raised bees for their honey for thousands of years; the oldest known apiaries were built by ancient Egyptians. The word itself didn't appear until the 1650s, around the time that apiarists, or beekeepers, started constructing apiaries resembling the ones in current use. Today, there are apiaries of various sizes on every continent and in every U.S. state.
Vocabulary lists containing apiary
"St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell
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The Secret Life of Bees
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This Week In Culture, September 7–13, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Brandon Teller, one of the county’s most prominent beekeepers, saw a Watch Duty fire notification on May 19 and headed straight to his apiary.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
Run by chemistry teacher Justin Wade, the club regularly has eight pupils who look after it's apiary and learn about the life of bees.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
Visit a local apiary or beekeeper to see how bees live and work.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 5, 2024
"We are so fortunate to be able to work with the Pennsylvania beekeepers, who every year answer a survey on their management practices, their bees' winter survival and their apiary locations," Grozinger said.
From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2024
I find the best pollinators are a good apiary of bees.
From The Apple by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
