bumblebee

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun robust hairy social bee of temperate regions

Etymology

1520s from bumble + bee, replacing Middle English humbul-be. Merged with Middle English bombeln (“to boom, buzz”), in the late 14th century. The name of the drink is a semantic loan from Ukrainian джміль (džmilʹ).

In classic literature

Synonyms

humblebee

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