drone

English

/dɹəʊn/, /dɹoʊn/

noun
Definitions
  • A male ant, bee or wasp, which does not work but can fertilize the queen bee.
  • (now) Someone who does not work; a lazy person, an idler.
  • One who performs menial or tedious work.
  • (colloquial) A remotely controlled aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English drone inherited from Old English drān (drone) inherited from Proto-Germanic *drēniz inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrēn- (drone, buzz, bee, murmur, hornet).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*dʰrēn-

Gloss

drone, buzz, bee, murmur, hornet

Concept
Semantic Field

Animals

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Kanji

蜂

Emoji
🐝

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms