beehive

Etymology

From Middle English beehyve, equivalent to bee + hive.

noun

1. An enclosed structure in which some species of honey bees (genus Apis) live and raise their young.
2. A man-made structure in which bees are kept for their honey.
3. (figurative) Any place full of activity, or in which people are very busy.
4. A women's hairstyle, popular in the 1960s, in which long hair is styled into a hive-shaped form on top of the head and usually held in place with lacquer.
5. A particular style of hat.
   A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away, […]. 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess
6. A type of anti-personnel ammunition round containing flechettes, and characterised by the buzzing sound made as they fly through the air.
7. (nonstandard, New Zealand) Alternative form of Beehive
   Brian Small said that the Minister could not 'hide in the beehive any longer' 2004, Nicholas Tarling, International Students in New Zealand, page 114
   In New Zealand, this approach is taken one step forward in that Ministers physically sit together up in the beehive, as their building is known, rather than being based in the Departments. 2010, David Halpern, The Hidden Wealth of Nations, page 216
   As with other major buildings the beehive demonstrated the need for a standardized building drawing practice which could be applied — and understood 1977, New Zealand Libraries - Volumes 40-42, page 30
8. (cellular automata) In Conway's Game of Life, a particular still life pattern with a rounded appearance.
   By the way, what happens to a beehive which is under attack by one or two gliders such as pictured: 1989-12-22, Norbert Roestel, “CA-LETTER”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
   Alternatively, in many cases the debris can be suppressed by perturbing the debris with a passing spaceship before it stabilizes into the beehive or loaf. 1992-10-22, David Bell, “Spaceships in Conway's Life (Part 6a)”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
   Unfortunately, a beehive (a common six cell still life) was also created close to the block, and its position made it impossible to eliminate with conventional methods using still lifes (anything placed to destroy it would be damaged by earlier activity). 1996-11-16, Paul Callahan, “Still-life glider reflector found”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)

verb

1. (rare, transitive) To fill (a place) with busy activity.
   Quite naturally, if there are more ministers swarming the cabinet rooms and conference halls, then there will be a spate of civil servants beehiving the secretariat. 1958, T. S. Bawa, Jawaharlal Nehru, Nehru's India: An Analytical Study, page 25
   The patrons beehiving the place whooped and shouted. 1989, Craig Foley, Blood Knot, page 59
   This is not the first time that I learnt of a neighbor's death after a lapse of a few weeks. You just don't see people beehiving a home, like in India […] 2012, Satish C. Bhatnagar, Epsilons and Deltas of Life: Everyday Stories, volume 1, page 16
2. (rare, transitive) To style ones hair in a hive-shaped or bouffant form.