colmena

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱolh₂mos
Proto-Celtic *kolmos
Proto-Indo-European *-nós
Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos
Proto-Celtic *-īnos
Proto-Celtic *kolmēnābor.?
Vulgar Latin *colmēna
Old Spanish colmena
Spanish colmena

    Inherited from Old Spanish colmena, from Vulgar Latin *colmēna, probably a borrowing from a Hispano-Celtic language, from Proto-Celtic *kolmēnā, from *kolmos (“straw”) +‎ *-īnā (relational suffix).[1] Doublet of cuelmo (“torch”).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /kolˈmena/ [kolˈme.na]
    • Audio (Colombia):(file)
    • Rhymes: -ena
    • Syllabification: col‧me‧na

    Noun

    colmena f (plural colmenas)

    1. beehive
    2. (by extension) swarm of bees living in a beehive
    3. (figuratively) crowded place

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • → Central Tarahumara: kolimena
    • → Tetelcingo Nahuatl: cormiena, colmiena

    References

    1. ^ Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1984), “colmena”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎[1] (in Spanish), volume I (A–Ca), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 137

    Further reading

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