bumblebee
or bum·ble bee
[buhm-buh l-bee]
- any of several large, hairy social bees of the family Apidae.
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Origin of bumblebee
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
tickverminpestmitebeebutterflygnatdragonflymothgrasshopperspidercockroachtermiteantmosquitobeetlefleaaphidladybugflyExamples from the Web for bumblebee
Historical Examples
I told him you boys were over on Bumblebee hill, and how to get there.
Shenanigans at Sugar CreekPaul Hutchens
He was forever boasting of his connection with the Bumblebee family.
The Tale of Betsy ButterflyArthur Scott Bailey
This stranger is no kin either to the Bumblebee or any other Bee family.
The Tale of Betsy ButterflyArthur Scott Bailey
And neither did the workers, nor any other member of the Bumblebee family.
The Tale of Buster BumblebeeArthur Scott Bailey
It was true that the Bumblebee family numbered at least two hundred souls.
The Tale of Buster BumblebeeArthur Scott Bailey
bumblebee
humblebee
- any large hairy social bee of the genus Bombus and related genera, of temperate regions: family Apidae
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Word Origin
C16: from bumble ² + bee 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bumblebee
n.
also bumble-bee, 1520s, replacing Middle English humbul-be (altered by association with Middle English bombeln "to boom, buzz," late 14c.); echoic, from PIE echoic root *kem "to hum."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper