Etymologically
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honey

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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
  • 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