Where does “drone” come from?

drone (Norwegian Nynorsk) comes from Middle Low German drōne, from Old Saxon drāna, from Proto-West Germanic drānu, from Proto-Germanic drēnuz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreh₁n-.

drone (Norwegian Nynorsk): drone (male bee)

Definitions

  1. drone (male bee)

Ancestry of “drone”, step by step

drone traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle Low German drōne

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Low Germandrōne—
2Old Saxondrāna—
3Proto-West Germanicdrānudrone, male bee
4Proto-Germanicdrēnuzmale bee or wasp; drone
5Proto-Indo-European*dʰreh₁n-—

via English drone

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdroneA male ant, bee or wasp, which does not work but...
2Middle Englishdrounento roar, bellow

Words derived from “drone”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreh₁n- →