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honeycomb

noun
/ˈhʌnikəʊm/UK/ˈhʌniˌkoʊm/US

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English honycomb, from Old English huniġcamb, from huniġ (“honey”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂ónks (“honey”)) + camb (“comb”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“peg; tooth; row of teeth”)). The English word is analysable as honey + comb. The Oxford English Dictionary posits that the arrangement of several plates of wax “hanging parallel to each other from the roof of the hive suggests a comb with its teeth”. The verb is derived from the noun. Compare Saterland Frisian Hunichmoarte (“honeycomb”), West Frisian huningskiif (“honeycomb”), Dutch honingraat (“honeycomb”), German Honigwabe (“honeycomb”).

  1. inherited from *ǵómbʰos✻ — “peg; tooth; row of teeth”
  2. inherited from *kn̥h₂ónks✻ — “honey”
  3. inherited from huniġcamb
  4. inherited from honycomb

Definitions

  1. A substance made by bees (clade Anthophila) primarily from beeswax which has hexagonal…

    A substance made by bees (clade Anthophila) primarily from beeswax which has hexagonal cells to hold their larvae, and for storing pollen and honey to feed the larvae and themselves when other food is scarce; it is also eaten by humans as part of comb-honey; (countable) a single sheet made up of two layers of this substance.

    • Pleaſant words are [as] an honycombe, ſweete to the ſoule, and health to the bones.
    • So vvee read that God manifeſted by the Lots vvhich Saul cauſed to be dravvn [1 Sam[uel] 14.43.] the fault that Jonathan had committed, in eating a honey-comb, contrary to the oath taken by the people.
    • The cells of the bees are perfect hexagons: theſe, in every honeycomb, are double, opening on either ſide, and cloſed at the bottom.

  2. Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes.

    • The wood porch was a honeycomb of termite tunnels before we replaced it.
    • [There is in Thomas Jefferson] evidence of a mind, soured, yet seeking for popularity, and eaten to a honeycomb with ambition, yet weak, confused, uninformed, and ignorant.

  3. Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness

    Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness; hence, something desirable or pleasant.

    • [F]or he [Jesus Christ] vvas the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and from him being crucified for our ſinnes, and ſlaine for our redemption, vve receive our honey and our honey-combe, that is to ſay, peace vvith God the Father.
    • Yes, Frank, what I have is my own, if labour in getting, and care in augmenting, can make a right of property; and no drone shall feed on my honeycomb.
    • [W]as he not / A full-cell'd honeycomb of eloquence / Stored from all flowers? Poet-like he spoke.
  4. ›+ 6 more definitions

    1. To riddle (something) with small holes, especially in a pattern resembling a honeycomb…

      To riddle (something) with small holes, especially in a pattern resembling a honeycomb (noun sense 1); also, to cause (something) to become hollow or weakened in this way.

    2. To bore cavities or tunnels inside (something).

      • Termites will honeycomb a porch made of untreated pine.

    3. To decorate (something) with a honeycomb pattern.

    4. To make way deeply into (something) so as to weaken it

      To make way deeply into (something) so as to weaken it; to undermine.

    5. To ornament (a ceiling) with honeycomb work (see noun sense 2.4).

    6. To become riddled with small holes, especially in a pattern resembling a honeycomb

      To become riddled with small holes, especially in a pattern resembling a honeycomb; also, to become hollow or weakened in this way.

The neighborhood

Derived

comb-honey, fungus comb, honeycomb coil, honeycomb conjecture, honeycomb coral, honeycomb ground, honeycomblike, honeycomb limestone, honeycomb lung, honeycomb moray, honeycomb moth, honeycomb pleat, honeycomb quartz, honeycomb quilt, honeycomb radiator, honeycomb ringworm, honeycomb rock, honeycomb sandwich, honeycomb scall, honeycomb sponge, honeycomb stitch, honeycomb stomach, honeycomb stone, honeycomb tetter, honeycomb toffee, honeycomb tripe, hyperhoneycomb, nanohoneycomb, honeycombed, honeycombing

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at honeycomb. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01honeycomb02bees03bee04wax05beeswax

A definitional loop anchored at honeycomb. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

5 hops · closes at honeycomb

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA