beeswax

Etymology

It is formed from English bee + wax, with the first part in the genitive singular or plural.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The word for the insect is from Old English bēo,^[5] and the word for the substance is from Old English weax (“sticky substance secreted by bees”).^[3] The slang sense "business" is a jocular alteration of business.^[7][3] Green's Dictionary of Slang explains the older slang sense "soft cheese" by the holes in it.^[8] The verb is formed by conversion from the noun.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The wax that honeybees make for their combs: 1603, in a translation by J. Florio, in the entry the OED revised in June 2025.^[2] The later dates in other dictionaries are 1655 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged,^[5] the 1670s in Etymonline,^[3] 1676 in the Historical Thesaurus,^[9] and 1670–80 in Dictionary.com.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In British slang from 1821 to 1927, beeswax was a poor, soft cheese.^[8] From 1827 old beeswax could be used to address a bore, a pun on bore "hole".^[8] The sense "business" is usually heard in the phrases none of your beeswax and mind your own beeswax, and is chiefly North American.^[2][10][8] The OED's first record is from a Montana newspaper of 1911,^[2] Green's Dictionary of Slang has 1929,^[8] and Etymonline has 1934, in Henry Roth's Call It Sleep.^[3]

Timeline

• 1603 – the wax secreted by honeybees.^[2]
• 1821 – poor, soft cheese, in British slang, in Moncrieff's Tom and Jerry.^[8]
• 1827 – old beeswax, a term of address to a bore.^[8]
• 1828 – verb, to rub or polish with beeswax.^[5] The OED's first record is in Dickens's Sketches by Boz of 1836.^[2][9]
• 1911 – business, one's own affairs, in a Montana newspaper.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The wax that honeybees secrete to build their honeycombs.^[2][7][5]
2. This wax melted and refined, used in polishes, candles and cosmetics.^[7][5][11]
3. (informal) A person's own business or concern, chiefly in none of your beeswax and mind your own beeswax.^[7][2][10]
4. A moderate yellowish-brown colour.^[5]
5. (British slang) Poor, soft cheese.^[8]

Verb

1. To rub, coat or polish something with beeswax: She beeswaxed the old oak table.^[5][2][11]

Word family

• beeswaxed

Related words

• bee
• wax
• business

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
10. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers