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Bike vs Bee - What's the difference?

bike | bee |

As nouns the difference between bike and bee

is that bike is a short form of bicycle or bike can be (scotland|northern england) a nest of wasps or hornets while bee is .

As a verb bike

is to ride a bike.

bike

English

Etymology 1

From , by shortening, and possibly alteration. One explanation for the pronunciation is that bicycle'' is parsed to ''bi(cy)c(le).'' An alternative explanation is that ''bicycle'' is shortened to ''bic(ycle),'' and the terminal [s] is converted to a [k] because there is an underlying [k]/[s] sound, which is softened to [s] in ''bicycle'' but retained as [k] in bike ; compare the letter ‘c’ (used for [k]/[s]).'' An Etymological Brainteaser: The Shortening of Bicycle to Bike, Robert B. Hausmann, American Speech, Vol. 51, No. 3/4 (Autumn - Winter, 1976), pp. 272–274

Noun

(en noun)
  • A short form of bicycle.
  • A short form of motorbike.
  • (slang) A promiscuous woman; from “the town bike (everybody rides her)”.
    • Synonyms
    * (motorcycle): motorbike * (woman): slapper (British''), slag (''British )
    Derived terms
    * (bicycle) cross bike; dirt bike; like riding a bike; mountain bike; road bike; utility bike * (motorcycle) biker; bikey or bikie (Australia ); quad bike * (woman) town bike, village bike
    See also
    * trike
    References

    Verb

    (bik)
  • To ride a bike.
    • I biked so much yesterday that I'm very sore today.
  • To travel by bike.
    • It was such a nice day I decided to bike to the store, though it's far enough I usually take my car.

    Etymology 2

    Origin unknown.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (Scotland, Northern England) A nest of wasps or hornets.
  • *1955 , (Robin Jenkins), The Cone-Gatherers , Canongate 2012, p. 107:
  • *:he stood for a minute talking to them about their job of gathering cones, and telling them a story about a tree he'd once climbed which had a wasp's byke in it unbeknown to him.

    • Anagrams

    * * English collective nouns ----

    bee

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) bee, from (etyl) ).

    Noun

    (s)
  • 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:
    • An angry Wasp th'one in a viall had, / Th'other in hers an hony-laden Bee .
  • *, 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.
    • 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 bee
    Synonyms
    *
    See also
    * apian * apiarian * apiarist * apiary * apimania * * * drone * dumbledore * hornet * honey * imbe * pollinator * wasp

    Etymology 2

    Possibly from dialectal (etyl) bene, been, .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A contest, especially for spelling; see spelling bee.
    • geography bee
  • A gathering for a specific purpose, e.g. a sewing bee or a quilting bee.
  • * S. G. Goodrich
    • The cellar was dug by a bee in a single day.
  • * 2011 , Tim Blanning, "The reinvention of the night", Times Literary Supplement , 21 Sep 2011:
    • 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)
  • (obsolete) A ring or torque; a bracelet.
  • * 1485 , Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur , Book VII:
    • And Kynge Arthure gaff hir a ryche bye of golde; and so she departed.
  • * 1658 , Sir Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial , Penguin 2005, page 16:
    • ...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)
  • * 1604 Reverend Cawdrey Table Aleph
    • held that a ‘Nicholaitan is an heretike, like Nicholas, who held that wiues should bee common to all alike.’
  • (obsolete) ; been
    • (Spenser)

    Etymology 5

    Noun

    (en noun)
    • See also
    *

    Etymology 6

    Probably from an (etyl) word meaning "ring". See bow.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Any of the pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through.
    • Synonyms
    * bee block

    References

    English terms with multiple etymologies ----