humblebee – English noun declension

English noun forms of humblebee

Noun: humblebee
Singularhumblebee
Pluralhumblebees

Sample Sentences

  • The Fox, the Ape, and the Humble-Bee,
  • Were ſtill at oddes being but three. [c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], signature [C4], verso:]
  • 1800's, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Humblebee
  • Burly, dozing humblebee,
  • Where thou art is clime for me.
  • Hence I have very little doubt, that if the whole genus of humble-bees became extinct or very rare in England, the heartsease and red clover would become very rare, or wholly disappear. [1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Struggle for Existence”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, pages 73–74:]

Etymology

1. From Middle English humbul-be, humbulbe, hombul-be, from *humbul (“bumblebee”) + be (“bee”).
2. See also West Frisian hommel (“bumblebee”), Dutch hommel (“bumblebee”), German Low German Hummel (“bumblebee”), German Hummel (“bumblebee”), Swedish humla (“bumblebee”), Norwegian humle (“bumblebee”); also cognate with Dutch hommelbij (“bumblebee”), Danish humlebi (“bumblebee”). Compare also English humble (“to hum”). See: Middle English Nouns 'humbul-be', Dutch Nouns 'hommel', German Nouns 'Hummel', Swedish Nouns 'humla', Dutch Nouns 'hommelbij', Danish Nouns 'humlebi', English Nouns 'humble'.

Verbs referencing "humblebee"

Swedish Nouns humla, Dutch Nouns hommel.