Bee vs Swab - What's the difference?
bee | swab |
A flying insect, of the superfamily Apoidea, known for its organised societies and for collecting pollen and producing wax and honey.
*1499 , (John Skelton), The Bowge of Courte :
*:His face was belymmed as byes had him stounge.
*1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.12:
*, II.12:
*:Can there be a more formall, and better ordered policie, divided into so severall charges and offices, more constantly entertained, and better maintained, than that of Bees ?
*2012 , ‘Subtle poison’, The Economist , 31 March:
*:Bees pollinate many of the world’s crops—a service estimated to be worth $15 billion a year in America alone.
A contest, especially for spelling; see spelling bee.
A gathering for a specific purpose, e.g. a sewing bee or a quilting bee.
* S. G. Goodrich
* 2011 , Tim Blanning, "The reinvention of the night", Times Literary Supplement , 21 Sep 2011:
(obsolete) A ring or torque; a bracelet.
* 1485 , Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur , Book VII:
* 1658 , Sir Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial , Penguin 2005, page 16:
* 1604 Reverend Cawdrey Table Aleph
(obsolete) ; been
Any of the pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through.
English terms with multiple etymologies
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(medicine) a small piece of soft, absorbent material, such as gauze, used to clean wounds, apply medicine, or take samples of body fluids. Often attached to a stick or wire to aid access.
A sample taken with a swab (1).
A piece of material used for cleaning or sampling other items like musical instruments or guns.
A mop, especially on a ship.
(slang) A sailor; a swabby.
To use a swab on something, or clean something with a swab.
* , chapter=6
, title=
As nouns the difference between bee and swab
is that bee is while swab is (medicine) a small piece of soft, absorbent material, such as gauze, used to clean wounds, apply medicine, or take samples of body fluids often attached to a stick or wire to aid access.As a verb swab is
to use a swab on something, or clean something with a swab.bee
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) bee, from (etyl) ).Noun
(s)- An angry Wasp th'one in a viall had, / Th'other in hers an hony-laden Bee .
Derived terms
* bee-eater * beekeeper * beehive * beehouse * beeline * beeswax * bee's knees * bumblebee * honeybee * carpenter bee * have a bee in your bonnet * put the bee on * queen bee * stingless bee * sting like a bee * worker beeSynonyms
*See also
* apian * apiarian * apiarist * apiary * apimania * * * drone * dumbledore * hornet * honey * imbe * pollinator * waspEtymology 2
Possibly from dialectal (etyl) bene, been, .Noun
(en noun)- geography bee
- The cellar was dug by a bee in a single day.
- Particularly resistant, for example, in many parts of northern Europe was the “spinning bee ”, a nocturnal gathering of women to exchange gossip, stories, refreshment and – crucially – light and heat, as they spun wool or flax, knitted or sewed.
Etymology 3
(Northern development of) (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)- And Kynge Arthure gaff hir a ryche bye of golde; and so she departed.
- ...restoring unto the world much gold richly adorning his Sword, two hundred Rubies, many hundred Imperial Coynes, three hundred golden Bees , the bones and horseshoe of his horse enterred with him...
Etymology 4
Variant spellings.Verb
(head)- held that a ‘Nicholaitan is an heretike, like Nicholas, who held that wiues should bee common to all alike.’
- (Spenser)
Etymology 5
See also
*Etymology 6
Probably from an (etyl) word meaning "ring". See bow.Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* bee blockReferences
swab
English
Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* (sailor) swabbyVerb
(swabb)Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=He had one hand on the bounce bottle—and he'd never let go of that since he got back to the table—but he had a handkerchief in the other and was swabbing his deadlights with it.}}