Drone Named a Male Bee Long Before Any Aircraft
A drone is an unmanned aircraft, a low hum, or a male bee. The aircraft took its name from the insect.
A drone is an unmanned aircraft, a continuous low sound, or a male bee. The bee is the original, and the aircraft is named after it: early radio-controlled target aircraft in the 1930s were called drones because they flew a set course under someone else's control, as a drone bee lives at the hive's direction. The Royal Navy's Queen Bee target aircraft made the joke explicit. A drone bee does no work and cannot sting.
- An unmanned aircraft. *A camera drone.*
- A male bee. *Drones and workers.*
- A low continuous sound. *The drone of traffic.*
- A bagpipe pipe. *The drone pipes.*
- To speak monotonously. *He droned on.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | drone | A small drone. |
| Plural | drones | Two drones. |
| Verb | drone | He droned on. |
| Adjective | droning | A droning voice. |
| Old English | dran | A male bee. |
- The drone filmed the coastline.Aircraft.
- Drones do no work in the hive.Bees.
- The drone of the engine sent him to sleep.Sound.
What a drone bee does
- Male, with no sting — the sting is a modified egg-laying organ
- Does no foraging and does not tend the young
- Its only role is to mate with a queen
- Expelled from the hive before winter
- The name gave English both idleness and the aircraft
Old English *dran*, a male bee, from a Germanic root imitating the sound. The aircraft sense dates from the 1930s.
Why is an unmanned aircraft called a drone?
From the male bee, because early target aircraft flew under someone else's control. The Queen Bee target aircraft made the pun deliberate.
Can a drone bee sting?
No. The sting is a modified egg-laying organ, so only females have one.