honey

English Online Dictionary. What means honey‎? What does honey mean?

English

Alternative forms

• hunny (eye dialect)

Etymology

From Middle English hony, honi, from Old English huniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hunag, from Proto-Germanic *hunagą (compare West Frisian hunich, German Honig), from earlier *hunangą (compare 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌni/
• Rhymes: -ʌni
• Hyphenation: hon‧ey

Noun

honey (usually uncountable, plural honeys or (archaic) honies)

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

3. (countable) A variety of this substance.
4. (rare) Nectar.
5. (figuratively) Something sweet or desirable.
6. A term of affection.
7. (countable, informal) A woman, especially an attractive one.
8. A spectrum of pale yellow to brownish-yellow color, like that of most types of (the sweet substance) honey.

Synonyms

• (sweet fluid from bees): mel
• (term of affection): darling, sweetie, see also Thesaurus:sweetheart

Hypernyms

• food
• liquid

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Japanese: ハニー (hanī)
• →⇒ Jarai: ia hơni
• → Marshallese: ōne
• Sranan Tongo: oni
• Tok Pisin: hani

Translations

Adjective

honey (comparative honeyer or honier, superlative honeyest or honiest)

1. Involving or resembling honey.
2. Of a pale yellow to brownish-yellow color, like most types of honey.
3. Honey-sweet.

Translations

Verb

honey (third-person singular simple present honeys, present participle honeying, simple past and past participle honeyed)

1. (transitive) To sweeten; to make agreeable.
2. (transitive) To add honey to.
3. (intransitive) To be gentle, agreeable, or coaxing; to talk fondly; to use endearments.
4. (intransitive) To be or become obsequiously courteous or complimentary; to fawn.

Derived terms

See also

• 🍯

• Appendix:Colors