Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Drone
Drone
,Noun.
[OE. ]
drane
a dronebee, AS. drān
; akin to OS. drān
, OHG. treno
, G. drohne
, Dan. drone
, cf. Gr. [GREEK] a kind of wasp, dial. Gr. [GREEK] drone. Prob. named fr. the droning sound. See Drone
, Verb.
I.
1.
(Zool.)
The male of bees, esp. of the honeybee. It gathers no honey. See
Honeybee
. All with united force combine to drive
The lazy
The lazy
drones
from the laborious hive. Dryden.
2.
One who lives on the labors of others; a lazy, idle fellow; a sluggard.
By living as a
drone
,to be an unprofitable and unworthy member of so noble and learned a society. Burton.
3.
That which gives out a grave or monotonous tone or dull sound; as:
(a)
A drum. [Obs.]
Halliwell. (b)
The part of the bagpipe containing the two lowest tubes, which always sound the key note and the fifth. 4.
A humming or deep murmuring sound.
The monotonous
drone
of the wheel. Longfellow.
5.
(Mus.)
A monotonous bass, as in a pastoral composition.
Drone
(drōn)
, Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Droned
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Droning
.] [Cf. (for sense 1) D. ]
dreunen
, G. dröhnen
, Icel. drynja
to roar, drynr
a roaring, Sw. dröna
to bellow, drone, Dan. dröne
, Goth. drunjus
sound, Gr. [GREEK] dirge, [GREEK] to cry aloud, Skr. dhran
to sound. Cf. Drone
, Noun.
1.
To utter or make a low, dull, monotonous, humming or murmuring sound.
Where the beetle wheels his
droning
flight. T. Gray.
2.
To love in idleness; to do nothing.
“Race of droning kings.” Dryden.
Webster 1828 Edition
Drone
DRONE
,Noun.
1.
The male of the honey bee. It is smaller than the queen bee, but larger than the working bee. The drones make no honey, but after living a few weeks, they are killed or driven from the hive. Hence,2.
An idler; a sluggard; one who earns nothing by industry.3.
A humming or low sound, or the instrument of humming.4.
The largest tube of the bag-pipe, which emits a continued deep note.DRONE
,Verb.
I.
1.
To live in idleness; as a droning king.2.
To give a low, heavy, dull sound; as the cymbals droning sound.