Definition of HIVE

hive

Meanings

Plural: hives

Noun

  • a teeming multitude
  • a man-made receptacle that houses a swarm of bees
  • a structure that provides a natural habitation for bees; as in a hollow tree
  • A structure, whether artificial or natural, for housing a swarm of honeybees.
  • The bees of one hive; a swarm of bees.
  • A place swarming with busy occupants; a crowd.
  • A section of the registry.
  • An itchy, red, swollen area of the skin; singular or attributive form of hives.

Verb

  • store, like bees
    • "bees hive honey and pollen"
    • "He hived lots of information"
  • move together in a hive or as if in a hive
  • gather into a hive
    • "The beekeeper hived the swarm"
  • To collect (bees) into a hive.
  • To store (something other than bees) in, or as if in, a hive.
  • To form a hive-like entity.
  • To take lodging or shelter together; to reside in a collective body.
  • Of insects: to enter or possess a hive.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English hyve, from Old English hȳf, from Proto-West Germanic *hūfi, from Proto-Indo-European *kuHp- (“water vessel”), from *kew- (“to bend, curve”).
See also Dutch huif (“beehive”), Danish dialect huv (“ship’s hull”); also Latin cūpa (“tub, vat”), Ancient Greek κύπη (kúpē, “gap, hole”), κύπελλον (kúpellon, “beaker”), Sanskrit कूप (kū́pa, “cave”). Doublet of coupe, cup, and keeve. The computing term was chosen as an in-joke relating to bees; see https://web.archive.org/web/20150715222122/http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2003/08/08/54618.aspx.

Synonyms

beehive

Scrabble Score: 10

hive is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
hive is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hive is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

hive is a valid Words With Friends word