# Origin of the word "bee" as in spelling, quilting, etc...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 1999, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-bee-as-in-spelling-quilting-etc/683 "1999-06-04T04:39:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 1999, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-bee-as-in-spelling-quilting-etc/683/1 "1999-06-04T04:39:00Z")
So my buds and I were watching the National Geography Bee on PBS last weekend (yep, we’re cool). We got to wondering how the word “bee” came to be synonymous with “competition.” Any guesses? Definitive answers? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 1999, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-bee-as-in-spelling-quilting-etc/683/2 "1999-06-04T16:03:00Z")
Found this at Websters… Definition 3. > [@](#): > > Main Entry: 3bee > > Function: noun > > Etymology: perhaps from English dialect _been_ help given by neighbors, from Middle English _bene_ prayer, _boon_, from Old English bEn prayer – more at BOON > > Date: 1769 > > : a gathering of people for a specific purpose (quilting bee) * * * .sig file missing — (A)dlib, ®etry, (F)ail? Dennis Matheson — [tanstaafl@earthlink.net](mailto:tanstaafl@earthlink.net) Hike, Dive, Ski, Climb — [home.earthlink.net/~tanstaafl](http://home.earthlink.net/~tanstaafl) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 1999, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-bee-as-in-spelling-quilting-etc/683/3 "1999-06-05T05:47:00Z")
This is one of those “nobody really knows, but here’s a guess” phrases. tanstaafl gives one of the guesses I’ve seen (BTW - “bene” can be translated as “prayer” or “favor”, the latter probably works best here). Another guess is that the word is taken from “bee”, the insect, and refers to the entire community working together for a common goal. Under this explanation, I guess we could just as well have a “national spelling ant”. FYI - the first written use of “bee” in this sense was “spinning bee” in 1769. * * * The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 1999, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-bee-as-in-spelling-quilting-etc/683/4 "1999-06-05T03:41:00Z")
William and Mary Morris, in their _Dictionary of Words and Phrases_ side with the insect origin: Apparently the busyness of the ordinary honey bee as he works cooperatively with his fellow bees to fill the community hive was the inspiration for such phrases as _sewing bee, husking bee, spelling bee_ and _raising bee_. This sort of social gathering where all work for a common, and often charitable, purpose is nothing new. They were well known to the yeomanry of England during the Middle Ages, but the name _bee_ seems to have been an American invention. … During the rough-and-ready days when our Western frontier was being opened, the word _bee_ was used in several less socially commendable combinations. Thus one might have read in Sam Clemens’ Virginia Ciy _Enterprise_ or Bret Harte’s _Overland Monthly_ account of such community activities as _lynching bees, shooting bees, hanging bees_, and even, for variety, _rattlesnake bees._ ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 1999, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-bee-as-in-spelling-quilting-etc/683/5 "1999-06-08T00:39:00Z")
Lynching bees? Geez, not a pretty thought… ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 1999, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-bee-as-in-spelling-quilting-etc/683/6 "1999-06-08T08:10:00Z")
bob92: > [@](#): > > Lynching bees? Geez, not a pretty thought… Indeed. I don’t see any reason why one would lynch a bee, or shoot or hang her. After all, they’re just poor, innocent creatures… Holger ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 1999, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-bee-as-in-spelling-quilting-etc/683/7 "1999-06-08T14:44:00Z")
Holger said: > [@](#): > > Indeed. I don’t see any reason why one would lynch a bee, or shoot or hang her. After all, they’re just poor, innocent creatures… Now, Hornets… that’s another story… * * * Ranger Jeff The Idol of American Youth Always drink\* upstream \* from the herd.