Online Etymology Dictionary

bee (n.): stinging insect, Old English beo "bee," from Proto-Germanic *bion (source also of Old Norse by, Old High German bia, Middle Dutch bie), possibly from PIE root *bhi- "quiver." Used metaphorically for "busy worker" since 1530s.

Sense of "meeting of neighbors to unite their labor for the benefit of one of their number," 1769, American English, probably is from comparison to the social activity of the insect; this was extended to other senses (such as spelling bee, first attested 1809; Raising-bee (1814) for building construction; also hanging bee "a lynching"). To have a bee in (one's) bonnet (1825), said of one who is harebrained or has an intense new notion or fancy, is said in Jamieson to be Scottish, perhaps from earlier expressions such as head full of bees (1510s), denoting mad mental activity.
bee-sting (n.): 1680s, from bee + sting (n.). Related: Bee-stung, which, of lips, is attested by 1845.
humble-bee (n.): "bumble-bee," mid-15c. but suspected to be older, from humble (late 14c.), frequentative of hum (v.). + bee (n.1). Compare bumble-bee.
sweat-bee (n.): 1870, American English, from sweat (n.) + bee (n.).
honey-bee (n.): also honeybee, c. 1400, from honey (n.) + bee (n.).
beeline (n.): also bee-line, 1838, American English, from bee + line (n.), in reference to the homing of bees in the field.
TO LINE BEES is to track wild bees to their homes in the woods. One who follows this occupation is called a bee hunter. [Bartlett, 1859]
The expression is attested from 1827.
beeswax (n.): 1670s, from genitive of bee + wax. As a jocular alteration of business (usually in an injunction to someone to mind his own) attested from 1934 in Lower East Side slang as reproduced in Henry Roth's "Call It Sleep."
beehive (n.): early 14c., from bee + hive (n.). As the name of a hairstyle, attested from 1960 (the style itself said to be popular from 1958). As the name of a star cluster in the constellation Cancer, from 1840 (see Praesepe).
quilt (v.): 1550s, from quilt (n.). Related: Quilted; quilting. Quilting bee attested from 1824 (see bee).
spelling (n.): mid-15c., "action of reading letter by letter," verbal noun from spell (v.1). Meaning "manner of forming words with letters" is from 1660s; meaning "a way a word has been spelled" is from 1731. Spelling bee is from 1878 (see bee; earlier spelling match, 1845; the act of winning such a schoolroom contest is described 1854 as to spell (someone) down).
Beowulf: Old English beo wulf, literally "bee-wolf," "a wolf to bees;" a kenning for "bear." See bee (n.) + wolf (n.).
baa: imitative sound of a sheep, attested from 1580s, but probably older, as baa is recorded before this a name for a child's toy sheep. Compare Latin bee "sound made by a sheep" (Varro), balare "to bleat;" Greek blekhe "a bleating;" Catalan be "a sheep."
bistro (n.): 1906, from French bistro (1884), originally Parisian slang for "little wineshop or restaurant," which is of unknown origin. Commonly said to be from Russian bee-stra "quickly," picked up during the Allied occupation of Paris in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon; but this, however quaint, is unlikely. Another guess is that it is from bistraud "a little shepherd," a word of the Poitou dialect, from biste "goat."
bumblebee (n.): also bumble-bee, 1520s, replacing Middle English humbul-be (altered by association with Middle English bombeln "to boom, buzz," late 14c.); echoic, from PIE echoic root *kem "to hum."
snug (adj.): 1590s, "compact, trim" (of a ship), especially "protected from the weather," perhaps from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse snoggr "short-haired," Old Swedish snygg, Old Danish snøg "neat, tidy," perhaps from PIE *kes- (1) "to scratch" (see xyster). Sense of "in a state of ease or comfort" first recorded 1620s. Meaning "fit closely" is first found 1838. Expression snug as a bug in a rug attested by 1769; earlier snug as a bee in a box (1706).
carpenter (n.): "wood-worker," c. 1300 (attested from early 12c. as a surname), from Anglo-French carpenter, Old North French carpentier (Old French and Modern French charpentier), from Late Latin (artifex) carpentarius "wagon (maker)," from Latin carpentum "wagon, two-wheeled carriage, cart," from Gaulish, from Old Celtic *carpentom (compare Old Irish carpat, Gaelic carbad "carriage"), probably related to Gaulish karros (see car).

Also from the Late Latin word are Spanish carpintero, Italian carpentiero. Replaced Old English treowwyrhta, literally "tree-wright." German Zimmermann "carpenter" is from Old High German zimbarman, from zimbar "wood for building, timber," cognate with Old Norse timbr (see timber). First record of carpenter bee is from 1844. A carpenter's rule (1690s) is foldable, suitable for carrying in the pocket.
beech (n.): Old English bece "beech," from Proto-Germanic *bokjon (source also of Old Norse bok, Dutch beuk, Flemish boek, Old High German buohha, German Buche, Middle Dutch boeke "beech"), from PIE root *bhagos "beech tree" (cognate with Greek phegos "oak," Latin fagus "beech;" see fagus).

Formerly with adjectival form beechen. Also see book (n.).
beef (n.): c. 1300, from Old French buef "ox; beef; ox hide" (11c., Modern French boeuf), from Latin bovem (nominative bos, genitive bovis) "ox, cow," from PIE root *gwou- "cow, ox, bull" (see cow (n.)). Original plural was beeves.
Beelzebub: Old English Belzebub, Philistine god worshipped at Ekron (2 Kings i:2), from Latin, used in Vulgate for New Testament Greek beelzeboub, from Hebrew ba'al-z'bub "lord of the flies," from ba'al "lord" (see Baal) + z'bhubh "fly." By later Christian writers often taken as another name for "Satan," though Milton made him one of the fallen angels. Baal being originally a title, it was applied by the Hebrews to neighboring divinities based on their attributes; other examples include Baal-berith "the covenant lord," god of the Shechemites; Baal-peor "lord of the opening," a god of Moab and Midian.
beep (interj.): 1927, imitative of automobile horns (originally of the sound of a certain type of automobile horn among several types in use in the years after the klaxon horn was brought into use c. 1910). Used as a noun and verb by 1929. Related: Beeped; beeping.
beer (n.): Old English beor "strong drink, beer, mead," a word of much-disputed and ambiguous origin, cognate with Old Frisian biar, Middle Dutch and Dutch bier, Old High German bior, German Bier.

Probably a 6c. West Germanic monastic borrowing of Vulgar Latin biber "a drink, beverage" (from Latin infinitive bibere "to drink;" see imbibe). Another suggestion is that it comes from Proto-Germanic *beuwoz-, from *beuwo- "barley." The native Germanic word for the beverage was the one that yielded ale (q.v.).
Beer was a common drink among most of the European peoples, as well as in Egypt and Mesopotamia, but was known to the Greeks and Romans only as an exotic product. [Buck]
They did have words for it, however. Greek brytos, used in reference to Thracian or Phrygian brews, was related to Old English breowan "brew;" Latin zythum is from Greek zythos, first used of Egyptian beer and treated as an Egyptian word but perhaps truly Greek and related to zyme "leaven." French bière is from Germanic. Spanish cerveza is from Latin cervesia "beer," perhaps related to Latin cremor "thick broth."

Old Church Slavonic pivo, source of the general Slavic word for "beer," is originally "a drink" (compare Old Church Slavonic piti "drink"). French bière is a 16c. borrowing from German. U.S. slang beer goggles, through which every potential romantic partner looks desirable, is from 1986.
bee's knees (n.): 1923, a survivor of a fad around this year for slang terms denoting "excellence" and based on animal anatomy. Also existed in the more ribald form bee's nuts. Other versions that lasted through the century are cat's whiskers (1923), cat's pajamas, cat's meow. More obscure examples are canary's tusks, cat's nuts and flea's eyebrows. The fad still had a heartbeat in Britain at the end of the century, as attested by the appearance of dog's bollocks in 1989. Bee's knee was used as far back as 1797 for "something insignificant."
beet (n.): Old English bete "beet, beetroot," from Latin beta, said to be of Celtic origin. Common in Old English, then lost till c. 1400. Still usually spoken of in plural in U.S. A general West Germanic borrowing, cognates: Old Frisian bete, Middle Dutch bete, Old High German bieza, German Beete.
beetle (n.1): type of insect, Old English bitela "beetle," literally "little biter," from bitel "biting," related to bitan "to bite" (see bite). As a nickname for the original Volkswagen car, 1946, translating German Käfer.
beetle (v.): "project, overhang," c. 1600, back-formation from bitelbrouwed "grim-browed, sullen" (mid-14c.), from bitel "sharp-edged, sharp" (c. 1200), probably a compound from Old English *bitol "biting, sharp," related to bite, + brow, which in Middle English meant "eyebrow," not "forehead." Meaning "to overhang dangerously" (of cliffs, etc.) is from c. 1600. Related: Beetled; beetling.
beefy (adj.): "brawny," 1743, from beef (n.) in colloquial extended sense "human muscle" + -y (2). Related: Beefiness.
beefeater (n.): "warder of the Tower of London," 1670s, a contemptuous reference to well-fed servants of the royal household; the notion is of "one who eats another's beef" (see eater, and compare Old English hlaf-æta "servant," literally "loaf-eater").
beef (v.): "to complain," slang, 1888, American English, from noun meaning "complaint" (1880s). The noun meaning "argument" is recorded from 1930s. The origin and signification are unclear; perhaps it traces to the common late 19c. complaint of U.S. soldiers about the quantity or quality of beef rations.
beeper (n.): "device that emits beeps," 1946, agent noun from beep (v.).
small beer (n.): 1560s, originally "weak beer;" used figuratively of small things or trifling matters. Small with the meaning "of low alcoholic content" is attested from mid-15c.
beefcake (n.): by 1952, "display of male pulchritude" in movies or magazines; said to have been modeled on cheesecake, but there seems to have been an actual foodstuff called beefcake around this time. The word seems to be little used in that literal sense since the other sense emerged.
beefsteak (n.): also beef-steak, 1711, from beef (n.) + steak.
beetle (n.2): beating tool, Old English bietel, from Proto-Germanic *bautilo-z, from *bautan "to beat" (see beat (v.)).
beery (adj.): 1848, from beer (n.) + -y (2). Related: Beerily; beeriness.
beestings (n.): "colostrum," Old English bysting, from beost, a general West Germanic word (cognates: Old High German biost, German Biest, Middle Dutch and Dutch biest) of unknown origin.
Beeb (n.): colloquial shortening of B.B.C., attested from 1967.
beef up (v.): "add strength," 1941, from college slang, from beef (n.) in slang sense of "muscle-power" (1851).
beek (v.): "to bask in the warmth" of something, early 13c., a northern and Scottish word of unknown origin; perhaps ultimately connected to bake (v.).
been (v.): past participle of be. Dismissive slang phrase been there, done that attested from 1994 (been there "had the experience," usually of something disreputable, is from 1880s).
beeves (n.): original plural of beef (compare boevz, plural of Old French buef), now only in restricted use.
has-been (n.): "one who has outlived his fame," c. 1600 (as hes-beene), from the verbal phrase; see has + been.
queen (n.): Old English cwen "queen, female ruler of a state, woman, wife," from Proto-Germanic *kwoeniz (source also of Old Saxon quan "wife," Old Norse kvaen, Gothic quens), ablaut variant of *kwenon (source of quean), from PIE *gwen- "woman, wife" supposedly originally "honored woman" (source also of Greek gyné "a woman, a wife;" Gaelic bean "woman;" Sanskrit janis "a woman," gná "wife of a god, a goddess;" Avestan jainish "wife;" Armenian kin "woman;" Old Church Slavonic zena, Old Prussian genna "woman;" Gothic qino "a woman, wife; qéns "a queen").

The original sense seems to have been "wife," specialized by Old English to "wife of a king." In Old Norse, still mostly of a wife generally, as in kvan-fang "marriage, taking of a wife," kvanlauss "unmarried, widowed," kvan-riki "the domineering of a wife." English is one of the few Indo-European languages to have a word for "queen" that is not a feminine derivative of a word for "king." The others are Scandinavian: Old Norse drottning, Danish dronning, Swedish drottning "queen," in Old Norse also "mistress," but these also are held to be ultimately from male words, such as Old Norse drottinn "master."

Used of chess piece from mid-15c. (as a verb in chess, in reference to a pawn that has reached the last rank, from 1789), of playing card from 1570s. Of bees from c. 1600 (until late 17c., they generally were thought to be kings; as in "Henry V," I.ii); queen bee in a figurative sense is from 1807. Meaning "male homosexual" (especially a feminine and ostentatious one) first certainly recorded 1924; probably here an alteration of quean, which is earlier in this sense. Queen Anne first used 1878 for "style characteristic of the time of Queen Anne of Great Britain and Ireland," who reigned 1702-14. Cincinnati, Ohio, has been the Queen City (of the West) since 1835.
Deborah: fem. proper name, prophetess and judge in the Old Testament, Hebrew, literally "bee" (thus the name is the same as Melissa).
matriarchal (adj.): 1780 (in reference to bee colonies); see matriarch + -al (1); "patterned after patriarchy" [Barnhart]. Related: Matriarchally.
apiary (n.): 1650s, from Latin apiarium "beehouse, beehive," neuter of apiarius "of bees," from apis "bee," a mystery word unrelated to any similar words in other Indo-European languages. A borrowing from Semitic has been proposed.
worker (n.): mid-14c., "laborer, toiler, performer, doer," agent noun from work (v.). As a type of bee, 1747. As "one employed for a wage," 1848. Old English had wyrcend "worker, laborer."
husker (n.): "one who husks (corn); one who takes part in a husking-bee," 1780, agent noun from husk (v.). Cornhuskers as a nickname for athletics squads from Nebraska is attested by 1903.
stonewall (n.): also stone wall, Old English stanwalle; see stone (n.) + wall (n.). As nickname of Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson (1824-1863), bestowed 1861 on the occasion of the First Battle of Bull Run, supposedly by Gen. Bernard Bee, urging his brigade to rally around Jackson, who was "standing like a stone wall." Bee was killed in the battle; the account of the nickname appeared in Southern newspapers within four days of the battle.
On the face of it this account has no character of authenticity, and the words ascribed to Bee smack less of the battlefield than of the editorial sanctum. ... It seems inherently probable that something was said by somebody, during or immediately after the battle, that likened Jackson or his men or both to a stone wall. [R.M. Johnston, "Bull Run: Its Strategy and Tactics," Boston, 1913]
formic (adj.): 1791 (in formic acid), literally "from ants," coined from Latin formica "ant" (see Formica (n.2)). The acid first was obtained in a fairly pure form in 1749 by German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf (1709-1782), who prepared it by distilling red ants. It also is found in nettles and bee stings.
burden (n.2): "leading idea," 1640s, a figurative use from earlier sense "refrain or chorus of a song," 1590s, originally "bass accompaniment to music" (late 14c.), from Old French bordon "bumble-bee, drone," or directly from Medieval Latin burdonom "drone, drone bass" (source of French bourdon, Spanish bordon, Portuguese bordão, Italian bordone), of echoic origin.