Hypertext Webster Gateway: "drone"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Drone \Drone\, n. [OE. drane a dronebee, AS. dr[=a]n; akin to
OS. dr[=a]n, OHG. treno, G. drohne, Dan. drone, cf. Gr. ? a
kind of wasp, dial. Gr. ? drone. Prob. named fr. the droning
sound. See {Drone}, v. i.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) The male of bees, esp. of the honeybee. It
gathers no honey. See {Honeybee}.
All with united force combine to drive The lazy
drones from the laborious hive. --Dryden.
2. One who lives on the labors of others; a lazy, idle
fellow; a sluggard.
By living as a drone,to be an unprofitable and
unworthy member of so noble and learned a society.
-- Burton.
3. That which gives out a grave or monotonous tone or dull
sound; as:
(a) A drum. [Obs.] Halliwell.
(b) The part of the bagpipe containing the two lowest
tubes, which always sound the key note and the fifth.
4. A humming or deep murmuring sound.
The monotonous drone of the wheel. --Longfellow.
5. (Mus.) A monotonous bass, as in a pastoral composition.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Drone \Drone\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Droned}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Droning}.] [Cf. (for sense 1) D. dreunen, G. dr["o]hnen,
Icel. drynja to roar, drynr a roaring, Sw. dr["o]na to
bellow, drone, Dan. dr["o]ne, Goth. drunjus sound, Gr. ?
dirge, ? to cry aloud, Skr. dhran to sound. Cf. {Drone}, n.]
1. To utter or make a low, dull, monotonous, humming or
murmuring sound.
Where the beetle wheels his droning flight. --T.
Gray.
2. To love in idleness; to do nothing. ``Race of droning
kings.'' --Dryden.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
drone
n 1: stingless male bee in a colony of social bees (especially
honeybees) whose sole function is to mate with the queen
2: an unchanging intonation [syn: {monotone}, {droning}]
3: someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags
behind [syn: {dawdler}, {laggard}, {lagger}, {trailer}]
4: an aircraft without a pilot that is operated by remote
control [syn: {pilotless aircraft}, {radio-controlled
aircraft}]
5: a pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single
continuous tone [syn: {drone pipe}, {bourdon}]
v 1: make a monotonous low dull sound
2: talk in a monotonous voice [syn: {drone on}]
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