n. [ OE. drane a dronebee, AS. drān; akin to OS. drān, OHG. treno, G. drohne, Dan. drone, cf. Gr. &unr_; a kind of wasp, dial. Gr. &unr_; drone. Prob. named fr. the droning sound. See Drone, v. i. ]
All with united force combine to drive
The lazy drones from the laborious hive. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]
By living as a drone, to be an unprofitable and unworthy member of so noble and learned a society. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ]
The monotonous drone of the wheel. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. i.
Where the beetle wheels his droning flight. T. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]
(Zool.) The male of the honeybee; a drone. [ 1913 Webster ]
(Zool.) A dipterous insect (Eristalis tenax), resembling the drone bee. See Eristalis. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. One of the low-toned tubes of a bagpipe. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. [ NL., Gr.
n. [ Sp. ladron, L. latro servant, robber, Gr. (&unr_;) a servant. ] A robber; a pirate; hence, loosely, a rogue or rascal. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n.;
n. [ Quinone + hydroquinone. ] (Chem.) A green crystalline substance formed by the union of quinone with hydroquinone, or as an intermediate product in the oxidation of hydroquinone or the reduction of quinone.
a. Formed into squadrons, or squares. [ R. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]