honey

Etymology

From Middle English hony, honi, from Old English huniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hunag, from Proto-Germanic *hunagą (compare West Frisian hunich, German Honig), from earlier *hunangą (compare Swedish honung), from Proto-Indo-European *kn̥h₂onk-o-s, from *kn̥h₂ónks. Cognate with Middle Welsh canecon (“gold”), Latin canicae pl (“bran”), Tocharian B kronkśe (“bee”), Albanian qengjë (“beehive”), Ancient Greek κνῆκος (knêkos, “safflower”), Northern Kurdish şan (“beehive”), Northern Luri گونج (gonj, “Bee”), Finnish hunaja.

noun

1. (uncountable) A viscous, sweet fluid produced from plant nectar by bees. Often used to sweeten tea or to spread on baked goods.
   The honey in the pot should last for years.
2. (countable) A variety of this substance.
   The physical properties of the different honeys, color, granulation, aroma, flavor, etc., are indicated in the table only in a very general way. 1908, United States. Bureau of Chemistry, Bulletin, numbers 110-114
   If two of the California honeys, western hyssop and fleabane, having a positive polarization at 200 C. are disregarded, then the remaining... 1949, Roy A. Grout, editor, The Hive and the Honey Bee
   Eucalyptus honeys could be characterized based on seven volatile compounds, whereas lavender honeys had only five... 2011, Stephen Taylor, Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, volume 62
3. (rare) Nectar.
4. (figurative) Something sweet or desirable.
5. A term of affection.
   Honey, would you take out the trash?
   Honey, I'm home.
   "So far, so good... are you doing okay?" "Flying... is awesome!" "Focus, honey." 30 July 2013, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013
6. (countable, informal) A woman, especially an attractive one.
   Man, there are some fine honeys here tonight!
7. A spectrum of pale yellow to brownish-yellow colour, like that of most types of (the sweet substance) honey.
   honey:

adj

1. Involving or resembling honey.
2. Of a pale yellow to brownish-yellow colour, like most types of honey.

verb

1. (transitive) To sweeten; to make agreeable.
2. (transitive) To add honey to.
3. (intransitive) To be gentle, agreeable, or coaxing; to talk fondly; to use endearments.
4. (intransitive) To be or become obsequiously courteous or complimentary; to fawn.