Where does “bees” come from?

Bees derives from English be, ultimately tracing through English by and English be in a semantic lineage of uncertain meaning.

bees (English): plural of bee

Definitions

  1. plural of bee

Ancestry of “bees”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbeeA flying insect, of the clade Anthophila within...
2Middle EnglishbeeA bee
3Old EnglishbēoI become, I will be, I am; bee
4Proto-West Germanic*bijābee
5Proto-Germanicbijōbee
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰī-to hit, to pierce
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰī- →Every word from Proto-Germanic bijō →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *bijā →