Agency Dictionary
honeycomb
nounPronunciation: /ˈhʌn.iˌkəʊm/
In Portuguese: favo de mel
Science & HealthWhat does “honeycomb” mean?
A structure of hexagonal wax cells built by bees to store honey, pollen, and larvae. In the article's aphorism it represents the essential place that a bee always returns to, no matter how far it roams.
Etymology
From Middle English honycomb, from Old English hunigcamb, a compound of hunig, "honey", and camb, "comb". The second element is the ordinary word for a toothed comb: the sheets of wax hanging side by side in the hive were likened to the teeth of a comb. The word names the mass of six-sided wax cells built by bees and, by extension, any structure or pattern of the same form.
Usage note
Also an adjective and a verb: a honeycomb pattern; a hill honeycombed with tunnels. In design it names any grid of hexagons.
Synonyms
- comb
Often confused with
- beehive
- The beehive is the dwelling of the whole colony; the honeycomb is the wax structure built inside it.
Word family
- honey
- comb
- honeycombed
Rhymes with
- home
- dome
- foam
- roam
Usage examples
A BEE MAY ROAM, BUT ITS HOME IS ALWAYS THE HONEYCOMB.
Issue.12 - Semiotics
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
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