honey

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhʌn.i/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hony, inherited from Old English hunig,^[2][3][4] recorded in the Vespasian Psalter before 830 and in the compound hunigsūge “honeysuckle” about 700,^[3] from Proto-Germanic *hunangą,^[2][5] which also gave Old Norse hunang, Dutch honig and German Honig.^[2][3] Its origin is uncertain:^[2] it may be related to Latin canicae “bran”, Greek knēkós “yellowish” and Sanskrit kāñcana “gold”, from a PIE word for yellow or golden colours,^[3][2][4] or come from a substrate language.^[2] Finnish hunaja is borrowed from Germanic.^[2] The common Indo-European word, from Proto-Indo-European *melit-, survives in Germanic only in Gothic miliþ.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The sweet fluid made by bees from flower nectar: about 825 in the OED.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

As a term of endearment it is from at least the mid-14th century,^[2][5] and honey-bunch from 1904.^[2] Sweetness in general is from 1592.^[6][5] The American sense “anything good of its kind”, as in a honey of a car, is from 1888.^[2] The verb, to sweeten, is implied in honied about 1350,^[3] and to call someone honey or talk sweetly is from 1602.^[6] Honeycomb is Old English,^[3][5] and honeymoon (1546) was said to be an ironic reference to the moon, no sooner full than it begins to wane.^[3][5] The colour of honey is from 1814.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 700 – hunigsūge, honeysuckle.^[3]
• c. 825 – honey.^[6]
• mid-14th century – a term of endearment.^[2]
• 1546 – honeymoon.^[3]
• 1592 – sweetness.^[6]
• 1814 – the colour.^[6]
• 1888 – something excellent (American).^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The sweet, thick fluid made by bees from the nectar of flowers.
2. (chiefly US) Darling, a term of endearment.
3. (informal) Something excellent of its kind.
4. Sweetness or pleasantness.
5. A pale golden-brown colour.

Verb

1. To sweeten, or to flatter with sweet words.

Word family

• honeyful
• honeyless
• honeylike

Related words

• honeycomb
• honeymoon
• honeysuckle
• mellifluous

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press