Abeille

From Fresh Dictionary

1 French

French

Etymology

Borrowed from ProvenÃ§al abelha, from Latin apicula, diminutive of apis âbeeâ. The native development of apis survived into Old French as ef, later Ã©s.

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Pronunciation

abeille

IPA: /a.bÉj/, [a.bÉËj] (Parisian)
X-SAMPA: /a.bEj/, [a.bE:j] (Parisian)

une abeille

IPA: [y.Ëna.bÉËj] (Parisian and Quebec)
X-SAMPA: [y."na.bE:j] (Parisian and Quebec)
Image:Loudspeaker.png Audio (Parisian)^{?, file}, Image:Loudspeaker.png Audio (Quebec)^{?, file}

des abeilles

IPA: [de.Ëza.bÉËj] (Parisian)
X-SAMPA: [de."za.bE:j] (Parisian)
Image:Loudspeaker.png Audio (Parisian)^{?, file}

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Homonyms

abbaye

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Noun

Image:Bees Collecting Pollen 2004-08-14.jpg

A honey bee (abeille) collecting pollen

Image:Blue orchard bee.jpg

A solitary bee (abeille)

abeille f. (plural: abeilles)

(zoology) A honey bee; a social insect that carries a stinger and is domesticated for the production of honey and beeswax.
- Elle sâest fait piquer par une abeille.
  She was stung by a bee.
- Ãtonnamment, regarder les abeilles butiner me dÃ©tend.
  Surprisingly, watching bees collect pollen bores me.
- Abeilles sauvages, domestiques.
  wild/domesticated bees
- Essaim dâabeilles.
  swarm of bees
(zoology, by extension) Insect of order hymenoptera with wings of black and yellow strips, an important pollinator that generally nourishes on nectar.
La majoritÃ© des abeilles sont solitaires.
The majority of bees are solitary.
(literature, figurative) A writer whose style is considered pure like honey.