honey
See also: Honey
English Edit
Alternative forms Edit
Etymology Edit
From Middle English hony, honi, from Old English huniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hunag, from Proto-Germanic *hunagą (compare West Frisian hunich, German Honig), from earlier *hunangą (compare Swedish honung), from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂onk-o-s, from *kn̥h₂ónks.
Cognate with Middle Welsh canecon (“gold”), Latin canicae pl (“bran”), Tocharian B kronkśe (“bee”), Albanian qengjë (“beehive”), Ancient Greek κνῆκος (knêkos, “safflower”), Northern Kurdish şan (“beehive”), Northern Luri گونج (gonj, “Bee”), Finnish hunaja.
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
honey (usually uncountable, plural honeys or (archaic) honies)
- (uncountable) A viscous, sweet fluid produced from plant nectar by bees. Often used to sweeten tea or to spread on baked goods.
- The honey in the pot should last for years.
- (countable) A variety of this substance.
- 1908, United States. Bureau of Chemistry, Bulletin[1], numbers 110-114:
- The physical properties of the different honeys, color, granulation, aroma, flavor, etc., are indicated in the table only in a very general way.
- 1949, Roy A. Grout, editor, The Hive and the Honey Bee[2]:
- If two of the California honeys, western hyssop and fleabane, having a positive polarization at 200 C. are disregarded, then the remaining...
- 2011, Stephen Taylor, Advances in Food and Nutrition Research[3], volume 62:
- Eucalyptus honeys could be characterized based on seven volatile compounds, whereas lavender honeys had only five...
- (rare) Nectar.
- (figurative) Something sweet or desirable.
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], lines 91–93:
- O my love, my wife! / Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath / Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.
- 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- the honey of his language
- A term of affection.
- Honey, would you take out the trash?
- Honey, I'm home.
- 2013 July 30, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013:
- "So far, so good... are you doing okay?" "Flying... is awesome!" "Focus, honey."
- (countable, informal) A woman, especially an attractive one.
- Man, there are some fine honeys here tonight!
- 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World/Ballantine Books, page 130:
- College was wild. I was like a happy little white kid playing in a sandbox full of toys. Honeys, basketball, music, I indulged in all of that shit to the max. And oh yeah. I went to a couple of classes too. I wasn't totally ass-out stupid.
- A spectrum of pale yellow to brownish-yellow colour, like that of most types of (the sweet substance) honey.
- honey:
Synonyms Edit
- (sweet fluid from bees): mel
- (term of affection): darling, sweetie, see also Thesaurus:sweetheart
Hypernyms Edit
Hyponyms Edit
Hyponyms of honey (noun)
Derived terms Edit
- bees and honey
- crested honey buzzard
- dip me in honey and throw me to the lesbians
- don't get your honey where you make your money
- European honey buzzard
- hip-hop honey
- honey ant
- honey barge
- honey bee
- honey bunny
- honey butter
- honey buzzard
- honey cart
- honey catches more flies than vinegar
- honey chile
- honey-colored
- honey do list
- honey-do list
- honey fund
- honey house
- honey joys
- honey kite
- honey-lotus
- honey lotus
- honey-month
- honey moon
- honey-mouthed
- honey mushroom
- honey mustard
- honey oil
- honey-plant
- honey possum
- honey pot
- honey pot ant
- honey-pot ant
- honey shot
- honey-tongued
- honey-trap
- honey wagon
- honey weasel
- honey wine
- mad honey
- manuka honey
- pour honey in one's ear
- pour honey into one's ear
- sour honey
- sugar honey ice tea
- thornless honey locust
- virgin honey
- you attract more flies with honey than vinegar
- you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar
- you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
- you catch more flies with honey than vinegar
- you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
Descendants Edit
Translations Edit
sweet substance produced by bees
|
variety of honey
|
something sweet or desirable
term of affection — see also darling
|
informal: attractive woman
colour
Adjective Edit
honey (not comparable)
- Involving or resembling honey.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
- So work the honey-bees, / Creatures that by a rule in nature teach / The act of order to a peopled kingdom.
- Of a pale yellow to brownish-yellow colour, like most types of honey.
Translations Edit
involving or resembling honey
honey-colored
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb Edit
honey (third-person singular simple present honeys, present participle honeying, simple past and past participle honeyed)
- (transitive) To sweeten; to make agreeable.
- (transitive) To add honey to.
- (intransitive) To be gentle, agreeable, or coaxing; to talk fondly; to use endearments.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:
- Honeying and making love.
- (intransitive) To be or become obsequiously courteous or complimentary; to fawn.
- 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Prologue”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 6:
- [O]ne / Discuss'd his tutor, rough to common men / But honeying at the whisper of a lord; / And one the Master, as a rogue in grain / Veneer'd with sanctimonious theory.
Derived terms Edit
Related terms Edit
Related terms
See also Edit
other entries of interest