honey English · revision 5753

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 825}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhʌn.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hony]], [[inh|ang|hunig]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) recorded in the Vespasian Psalter before 830 and in the compound hunigsūge “honeysuckle” about 700,^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*hunangą]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which also gave Old Norse hunang, Dutch honig and German Honig.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Its origin is uncertain:^(Etymonline) it may be related to Latin canicae “bran”, Greek knēkós “yellowish” and Sanskrit kāñcana “gold”, from a PIE word for yellow or golden colours,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) or come from a substrate language.^(Etymonline) Finnish hunaja is borrowed from Germanic.^(Etymonline) The common Indo-European word, from [[ine-pro|*melit-]], survives in Germanic only in Gothic miliþ.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The sweet fluid made by bees from flower nectar: about 825 in the OED.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a term of endearment it is from at least the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and ''honey-bunch'' from 1904.^(Etymonline) Sweetness in general is from 1592.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) The American sense “anything good of its kind”, as in ''a honey of a car'', is from 1888.^(Etymonline) The verb, to sweeten, is implied in ''honied'' about 1350,^(Barnhart 1988) and to call someone honey or talk sweetly is from 1602.^(OED 1989) ''Honeycomb'' is Old English,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and ''honeymoon'' (1546) was said to be an ironic reference to the moon, no sooner full than it begins to wane.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The colour of honey is from 1814.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – hunigsūge, honeysuckle.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 825 – honey.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-14th century – a term of endearment.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1546 – ''honeymoon''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1592 – sweetness.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1814 – the colour.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1888 – something excellent (American).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The sweet, thick fluid made by [[bee|alt=bees]] from the [[nectar]] of flowers.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly US)'' [[darling|alt=Darling]], a term of [[endearment]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' Something excellent of its kind.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Sweetness or pleasantness.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A pale golden-brown [[colour]].^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To sweeten, or to flatter with sweet words.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[honeyful]]

+ * [[honeyless]]

+ * [[honeylike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[honeycomb]]

+ * [[honeymoon]]

+ * [[honeysuckle]]

+ * [[mellifluous]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}