honey

Definition

A sweet, viscous, gold-colored fluid produced from plant nectar by bees, and often consumed by humans.

Etymology

From Middle English hony, honi, from Old English huniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hunag, from Proto-Germanic *hunagą (compare Saterland Frisian Hunich, West Frisian hunich, German Low German Honnig, German Honig), from earlier *hunangą (compare North Frisian honning, hönning, West Frisian huning, Dutch honing, 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.

Example Sentences

• "The honey in the pot should last for years."
• "The physical properties of the different honeys, color, granulation, aroma, flavor, etc., are indicated in the table only in a very general way."
• "If two of the California honeys, western hyssop and fleabane, having a positive polarization at 200 C. are disregarded, then the remaining..."