honeycomb
UK /ˈhʌnikəʊm/ · US /ˈhʌniˌkoʊm/ noun, verb
Forms honeycombs honeycombing honeycombed honey-comb
- noun (uncountable) A substance made by bees (clade Anthophila) primarily from beeswax which has hexagonal cells to hold their larvae, and for storing pollen and honey to feed the larvae and themselves when other food is scarce; it is also eaten by humans as part of comb-honey; (countable) a single sheet made up of two layers of this substance.
- noun (countable, by extension) Something resembling honeycomb (noun sense 1) in having numerous cells or small holes. “The wood porch was a honeycomb of termite tunnels before we replaced it.”
- noun (countable, geometry) A space-filling packing of polytopes in three- or higher-dimensional space.
- noun The texture of the surface of a solar cell, intended to increase its surface area and capture more sunlight.
- noun (archaic) A defect in a material (especially metal) where small holes are present; specifically (construction), a defect in concrete consisting of numerous voids resulting from the failure of mortar to effectively fill the spaces among coarse aggregate particles.
- noun (chiefly aviation) Material manufactured with small hollow cells, sometimes sandwiched between two flat sheets, which is used to make light, stiff structural components.
- noun (countable, figurative) Something resembling honeycomb in sweetness; hence, something desirable or pleasant.
- noun (countable, archaic) Used as a term of endearment: honey, sweetheart.
- verb To riddle (something) with small holes, especially in a pattern resembling a honeycomb (noun sense 1); also, to cause (something) to become hollow or weakened in this way.
- verb To bore cavities or tunnels inside (something). “Termites will honeycomb a porch made of untreated pine.”
- verb To decorate (something) with a honeycomb pattern.
- verb (figurative, chiefly passive voice) To make way deeply into (something) so as to weaken it; to undermine.
- verb (architecture) To ornament (a ceiling) with honeycomb work (see noun sense 2.4).
- verb (intransitive, also figurative, archaic) To become riddled with small holes, especially in a pattern resembling a honeycomb; also, to become hollow or weakened in this way.
Synonyms
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English honycomb, from Old English huniġcamb, from huniġ (“honey”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂ónks (“honey”)) + camb (“comb”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“peg; tooth; row of teeth”)). The English word is analysable as honey + comb. The Oxford English Dictionary posits that the arrangement of several plates of wax “hanging parallel to each other from the roof of the hive suggests a comb with its teeth”. The verb is derived from the noun. Compare Saterland Frisian Hunichmoarte (“honeycomb”), West Frisian huningskiif (“honeycomb”), Dutch honingraat (“honeycomb”), German Honigwabe (“honeycomb”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A mass of hexagonal waxen cells, formed by bees, and used by them to hold their honey and their eggs.
- noun Any substance, as a easting of iron, a piece of worm-eaten wood, or of triple, etc., perforated with cells like a honeycomb. Honeycomb moth (Zoöl.), the wax moth.
Etymology [AS. hunigcamb. See Honey, and 1st Comb.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “honeycomb”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details