Drone
The noun drone came to English almost unchanged from Old English dran and Proto-Germanic dran. A drone is a male honeybee whose sole function is to mate with the queen bee. Unlike a female worker bee, a drone has no stinger. For thousands of years, male bees have always been called drones.
The use of the word drone to refer to an idler or lazy worker is from the 1520s. Drone, meaning a pilotless aircraft directed by remote control, is from 1946.
Drone, meaning a deep continuous humming sound is from around 1500. The drone, or bass pipe of a bagpipe, is from the 1590s.
The verb ‘to drone’, meaning to roar or to bellow, came to English in the mid-14th century as drounen. By around 1500, to drone meant to give forth a monotonous and unvaried tone, hum, or buzz. Drone, meaning to speak in a dull, monotonous tone, is from the 1610s. In modern times, drone is often used to describe the characteristic sound of airplane engines.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
The use of the word drone to refer to an idler or lazy worker is from the 1520s. Drone, meaning a pilotless aircraft directed by remote control, is from 1946.
Drone, meaning a deep continuous humming sound is from around 1500. The drone, or bass pipe of a bagpipe, is from the 1590s.
The verb ‘to drone’, meaning to roar or to bellow, came to English in the mid-14th century as drounen. By around 1500, to drone meant to give forth a monotonous and unvaried tone, hum, or buzz. Drone, meaning to speak in a dull, monotonous tone, is from the 1610s. In modern times, drone is often used to describe the characteristic sound of airplane engines.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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