bumblebee

[buhm-buhl-bee] Origin

bum·ble·bee

[buhm-buhl-bee]
noun
any of several large, hairy social bees of the family Apidae.
Also, bumble bee.


Origin:
1520–30; bumble2 + bee1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Bumblebee is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
Collins
World English Dictionary
bumblebee or humblebee (ˈbʌmbəlˌbiː)
 
n
any large hairy social bee of the genus Bombus and related genera, of temperate regions: family Apidae
 
[C16: from bumble² + bee1]
 
humblebee or humblebee
 
n
 
[C16: from bumble² + bee1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bumblebee
1520s, replacing M.E. humbul-be, alt. by assoc. with M.E. bombeln "to boom, buzz," echoic, from PIE base *kem "to hum," echoic.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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