| 释义 |
bee
I. \ˈbē\ noun
(-s)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bēo; akin to Old High German bini, bīa bee, Old Norse bȳ, Welsh bydaf beehive, Lithuanian bitis bee
1. : a social colonial hymenopterous insect (Apis mellifera) often maintained in a state of domestication for the sake of the honey that it produces and for use as a pollinator : honeybee; broadly : any of numerous membranous-winged noncarnivorous insects constituting a superfamily (Apoidea) of the order Hymenoptera that differ from the closely related wasps in possession of a heavier hairier body and sucking as well as chewing mouthparts, feed on pollen and nectar and store both and often also honey, the fertile females and workers usually having functional stings
2. : an eccentric, fantastic, or delusive notion : whim, fancy
< he has a new bee that he'd like to be an actor >
3. [perhaps alteration of English dialect been, bean voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task, probably from Middle English bene boon, prayer, from Old English bēn prayer — more at boon]
a. : a usually social gathering of people to accomplish cooperatively a specific purpose — often used in combinations
< husking bee >
< quilting bee >
b. : party 10a
< a square-dancing bee >
c. : spelling bee
4. : a lump of a yeast (Saccharomyces pyriformis) intermittently rising and releasing bubbles in brew — usually used in plural
•
- bee in one's bonnet
II. noun
or bee block
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English beghe, beh ring, bracelet, from Old English bēag, bēah; akin to Old High German boug ring, bracelet, Old Norse baugr, Sanskrit bhoga coil (of a snake), Old English būgan to bend, bow — more at bow
: a piece of hard wood bolted to the side of a bowsprit sometimes with metal sheaves to reeve fore-topmast stays through
III. noun
also be \“\
(-s)
: the letter b |