Is drone a word

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɹəʊn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dɹoʊn/
• Rhymes: -əʊn

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English drane, from Old English drān, from Proto-West Germanic *drānu, from Proto-Germanic *drēniz, *drēnuz, *drenô (“an insect, drone”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrēn- (“bee, drone, hornet”).

Cognate with:

• Dutch dar (“male bee or wasp”),
• Low German drone (“drone”),
• German Drohne, dialectal German Dräne, Trehne, Trene (“drone”),
• Danish drone (“drone”),
• Swedish drönje, drönare (“drone”).

In sense “unmanned aircraft”, due to early military UAVs dumbly flying on preset paths.^[1] The verb sense derives from this sense.

Noun[edit]

drone (plural drones)

1. A male ant, bee or wasp, which does not work but can fertilize the queen.

   • 1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     All with united force combine to drive / The lazy drones from the laborious hive.

2. (now rare) Someone who does not work; a lazy person, an idler.

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene v]:

     SHYLOCK:
     The patch is kind enough, but a huge feeder,
     Snail-slow in profit, and he sleeps by day
     More than the wild-cat; drones hive not with me;
     Therefore I part with him; and part with him
     To one what I would have him help to waste
     His borrowed purse. […]

   • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 117:

     he that gathereth not every day as much as I doe, the next day shall be set beyond the river, and be banished from the Fort as a drone, till he amend his conditions or starve.

   • by living as a drone, to be an unprofitable or unworthy member of so learned and noble a society

3. One who performs menial or tedious work.

   Synonym: drudge

4. (aviation) A remotely controlled aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

   Synonyms: UAV, UAS

   Hyponym: quadcopter

   Several images of the compound were obtained via a drone overflight.

   One team member launched a camera drone over the Third Pole.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Vehicles: Combat Drones Codex entry:

     All modern armies rely on veritable fleets of drones for routine soldiering (static garrisons, patrols, etc.). The use of drones in non-critical duties keeps manpower need down and reduces casualties in low intensity conflicts. Less advanced races and cultures with less sensitivity to casualties have correspondingly fewer drones in their inventory. Drones are of little use in conventional open field battles, as they are poorly armed and armored.

   • 2012 October 25, Scott Shane, “Drone Strikes to Be Investigated”, in New York Times‎^[2]:

     The United Nations is setting up a unit to investigate American drone strikes and other targeted killings of terrorist suspects, Ben Emmerson, the United Nations special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, said Thursday.

   • 2012 December 1, “An internet of airborne things”, in The Economist‎^[3], volume 405, number 8813, page 3 (Technology Quarterly):

     A farmer could place an order for a new tractor part by text message and pay for it by mobile money-transfer. A supplier many miles away would then take the part to the local matternet station for airborne dispatch via drone.

   • 2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly‎^[4], volume 188, number 26, page 6:

     In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.

   • 2017 October 17, Christina Caron, “After Drone Hits Plane in Canada, New Fears About Air Safety”, in New York Times‎^[5]:

     In April, as an Air Canada Jazz flight was landing at Trudeau Airport, a drone came so close the pilot was able to identify it as a quadcopter.

   • 2020 May 20, Paul Stephen, “NR beats floods to secure tracks to Drax”, in Rail, page 58, photo caption:

     NR made extensive use of drones, helicopters and a team of divers to inspect the flood-damaged section of embankment that forced the closure of one of the lines into Drax from February 6-April 20.

5. (Uganda) A Toyota HiAce or a similar van, especially one used by Ugandan state agents to kidnap opposition members.

   • 2021 February 4, Alex Mugasha, “Why Uganda’s security agencies have fallen in love with the «Drone» van”, in Nile Post‎^[6]:

     The van is locally referred to as «a drone» because it is compact and stable under extreme conditions. It is also very fast. Technically though, it is a Toyota Hiace, which is usually used for commercial purposes.

   • 2021 February 4, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, “Horror inside a kidnap drone”, in The Observer‎^[7]:

     He has been arrested several times, transported in drone vans and brutalized in various detention facilities.

   • 2021 March 3, Liam Taylor, “They came in plainclothes with guns: ‘Abducted’ by Uganda’s army”, in Al Jazeera‎^[8]:

     The Toyota Hiace is a light commercial van that can be used as a minibus, a taxi, or even an ambulance. But in Uganda, the «drone» has a sinister reputation. Chris Atukwasize, a cartoonist at the Daily Monitor newspaper, dubbed it the #WheelsOfSteal and rendered it as a skull: brake lights dripping blood, its front grille a row of teeth, and hands plastered behind its tinted back windows, pleading for help.

   • 2022 October 2, Sam Waswa, “UPDF Probes Drone Raid at Journalist’s Home”, in Chimp Reports‎^[9]:

     Earlier this week, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa summoned the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja together with the Ministers of Security and Internal Affairs and parliamentary whips to address the said return of drones on the streets.

   • 2022 October 20, Albert K Awedoba, Andreas Mehler, Benedikt Kamski, David Sebudubudu, Africa Yearbook, volume 18, →ISBN, page 419:

     A minibus van, often numberless and dubbed the ‘drone’, gained notoriety for kidnaps and disappearances.

6. (chiefly Internet slang) A person without the ability to think critically and independently, especially one who follows a group blindly; a non-player character.

   • 2009 December 18, Benway (original non-Zionist), “Shocking Jewish faggot property pimp attack on Australia”, in aus.politics, Usenet‎^[10]:

     The billionaire-friendly media drones and frenzied
     multiculturalist politicians are imposing
     «vibrant» third world social violence onto
     Australians, and Australians don’t get to vote
     against this «bipartisan» conspiracy. The
     hyperactive globalist politicians and media drones
     might find themselves facing firing squads if they
     don’t change their corrupt ways.

   • 2011 September 2, corella, “What does it mean when gibbering media drones say that grotesque Asian-style «Stack and Pack» slums and plague immigration are vibrant?”, in aus.politics, Usenet‎^[11]:

   • 2017 January 19, The Party Of Trump (The Party For Winners), “Re: Clinton Cash”, in alt.checkmate, Usenet‎^[12]:

     Instead, you got into lockstep with all the other hive-mind libtard drones and voted for the slimy corrupt scumbag bitch who was under *two* active Congressional investigations (a first in history, BTW), Hitlery Clinton.

Usage notes[edit]

• In sense “unmanned aircraft”, primarily used informally of military aircraft or consumer radio controlled quadcopters, without precise definition.^[1]

Hyponyms[edit]

• (military): kamikaze drone

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

• → Asturian: dron
• → Spanish: dron
• → Italian: drone
• → Polish: dron
• → Portuguese: drone

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

drone (third-person singular simple present drones, present participle droning, simple past and past participle droned)

1. (transitive, colloquial) To kill with a missile fired by unmanned aircraft.

   • 2014, Colin Campbell, “Bill Ayers To Obama: ‘Stop Droning People’”, in Business Insider‎^[13]:

     «I have a lot of advice for him,» Ayers said in the interview, aired Tuesday night. «I want him to stop droning people. I want him to close Guantanamo. I want universal healthcare. Don’t you think we deserve universal healthcare? Seriously.»

   • 2016, David Moye, “Trevor Noah: If Trump Is Elected, He’ll Wage ‘Warsuits’”, in Huffington Post‎^[14]:

     “He won’t be waging wars all the world ― he’ll be waging ‘warsuits,’” Noah said. “Droning people with subpoenas all over the globe.”

   • 2018, David Weigel, “The new ‘Dr. No’: Rep. Justin Amash, marooned in Congress”, in Washington Post‎^[15]:

     “Are we still droning people? Yeah,” he said. “Are we still running covert operations that weren’t authorized by Congress? Yeah. Is the government still spying on Americans without warrants? Without due process. Yeah. When some libertarians talk about the great accomplishments we’re seeing on foreign policy, I don’t know what they’re talking about. Reaching out to these guys is one thing, but you have to move down the court. [Trump] actually made it harder for us to have a good relationship with Russia.”

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English drounen (“to roar, bellow”), from Proto-West Germanic *drunnjan, from Proto-Germanic *drunjaną (“to drone, roar, make a sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“to roar, hum, drone”).

Cognate with Scots drune (“to drone, moan, complain”), Dutch dreunen (“to drone, boom, thud”), Low German drönen (“to drone, buzz, hum”), German dröhnen (“to roar, boom, rumble”), Danish drøne (“to roar, boom, peel out”), Swedish dröna (“to low, bellow, roar”), Icelandic drynja (“to roar”).

This entry needs a sound clip exemplifying the definition.

Verb[edit]

drone (third-person singular simple present drones, present participle droning, simple past and past participle droned)

1. To produce a low-pitched hum or buzz.
2. To speak in a monotone way.

Derived terms[edit]

• drone on

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

drone (plural drones)

1. A low-pitched hum or buzz.
   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

     He chanted as he flew and the car responded with sonorous drone.

2. (music) One of the fixed-pitch pipes on a bagpipe.
3. (music, uncountable) A genre of music that uses repeated lengthy droning sounds.
4. A humming or deep murmuring sound.

   • The monotonous drone of the wheel.

Translations[edit]

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

• Doner, Roden, doner, nerdo, orned, redon, renod, ronde

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English drone (“aircraft drone”). Doublette with dar (“male bee”), which descended from Middle Dutch, cf. Limburgish dreen.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /droːn/
• Hyphenation: drone
• Rhymes: -oːn

Noun[edit]

drone m (plural drones, diminutive droontje n)

1. a remotely controlled aircraft; a drone

Derived terms[edit]

• droneaanval

Finnish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

< English drone

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈdrone/, [ˈdro̞ne̞]
• Rhymes: -one
• Syllabification^(key): dro‧ne

Noun[edit]

drone

1. (Anglicism) drone (type of unmanned aircraft)

Declension[edit]

Inflection of drone (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)
nominative	drone	dronet
genitive	dronen	dronejen
partitive	dronea	droneja
illative	droneen	droneihin
	singular	plural
nominative	drone	dronet
accusative	nom.	drone	dronet
gen.	dronen
genitive	dronen	dronejen droneinrare
partitive	dronea	droneja
inessive	dronessa	droneissa
elative	dronesta	droneista
illative	droneen	droneihin
adessive	dronella	droneilla
ablative	dronelta	droneilta
allative	dronelle	droneille
essive	dronena	droneina
translative	droneksi	droneiksi
instructive	—	dronein
abessive	dronetta	droneitta
comitative	See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of drone (type nalle)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative droneni droneni accusative nom. droneni droneni gen. droneni genitive droneni dronejeni droneinirare partitive droneani dronejani inessive dronessani droneissani elative dronestani droneistani illative droneeni droneihini adessive dronellani droneillani ablative droneltani droneiltani allative dronelleni droneilleni essive dronenani droneinani translative dronekseni droneikseni instructive — — abessive dronettani droneittani comitative — droneineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative dronesi dronesi accusative nom. dronesi dronesi gen. dronesi genitive dronesi dronejesi droneisirare partitive droneasi dronejasi inessive dronessasi droneissasi elative dronestasi droneistasi illative droneesi droneihisi adessive dronellasi droneillasi ablative droneltasi droneiltasi allative dronellesi droneillesi essive dronenasi droneinasi translative droneksesi droneiksesi instructive — — abessive dronettasi droneittasi comitative — droneinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative dronemme dronemme accusative nom. dronemme dronemme gen. dronemme genitive dronemme dronejemme droneimmerare partitive droneamme dronejamme inessive dronessamme droneissamme elative dronestamme droneistamme illative droneemme droneihimme adessive dronellamme droneillamme ablative droneltamme droneiltamme allative dronellemme droneillemme essive dronenamme droneinamme translative droneksemme droneiksemme instructive — — abessive dronettamme droneittamme comitative — droneinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative dronenne dronenne accusative nom. dronenne dronenne gen. dronenne genitive dronenne dronejenne droneinnerare partitive droneanne dronejanne inessive dronessanne droneissanne elative dronestanne droneistanne illative droneenne droneihinne adessive dronellanne droneillanne ablative droneltanne droneiltanne allative dronellenne droneillenne essive dronenanne droneinanne translative droneksenne droneiksenne instructive — — abessive dronettanne droneittanne comitative — droneinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative dronensa dronensa accusative nom. dronensa dronensa gen. dronensa genitive dronensa dronejensa droneinsarare partitive droneaan droneansa dronejaan dronejansa inessive dronessaan dronessansa droneissaan droneissansa elative dronestaan dronestansa droneistaan droneistansa illative droneensa droneihinsa adessive dronellaan dronellansa droneillaan droneillansa ablative droneltaan droneltansa droneiltaan droneiltansa allative dronelleen dronellensa droneilleen droneillensa essive dronenaan dronenansa droneinaan droneinansa translative dronekseen droneksensa droneikseen droneiksensa instructive — — abessive dronettaan dronettansa droneittaan droneittansa comitative — droneineen droneinensa

Synonyms[edit]

• drooni
• lennokki

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English drone.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /dʁon/

• Audio (Switzerland)

  (file)

Noun[edit]

drone m (plural drones)

1. drone (unmanned aircraft)

Derived terms[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English drone.

Noun[edit]

drone m (invariable)

1. drone (unmanned aircraft)

Anagrams[edit]

• derno, dreno, drenò, rendo, ronde

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

drone

1. Alternative form of drane

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Low German drone (sense 1), and English drone (sense 2).

Noun[edit]

drone m (definite singular dronen, indefinite plural droner, definite plural dronene)

1. a drone (male bee)
2. a drone (radio-controlled pilotless aircraft)

Synonyms[edit]

• dronefly (aircraft)

References[edit]

• “drone” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Low German drone (sense 1), and English drone (sense 2).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈdruːnə/

Noun[edit]

drone m (definite singular dronen, indefinite plural dronar, definite plural dronane)

1. drone (male bee)
2. drone (unmanned aircraft)

Synonyms[edit]

• (male bee): hannbie
• (aircraft): dronefly

References[edit]

• “drone” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English drone.^[1][2]

Pronunciation[edit]

• Hyphenation: dro‧ne

Noun[edit]

drone m (plural drones)

1. drone (unmanned aircraft)

References[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• dron

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English drone.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɾon/ [ˈd̪ɾõn]
• Rhymes: -on

Noun[edit]

drone m (plural drones)

1. drone

Usage notes[edit]

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Turkish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• dron

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English drone.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɾon/

Noun[edit]

drone (definite accusative droneu, plural dronelar)

1. (aviation) An unmanned aerial vehicle; drone.

Declension[edit]

Inflection
Nominative	drone
Definite accusative	droneu
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	drone	dronelar
Definite accusative	droneu	droneları
Dative	dronea	dronelara
Locative	droneda	dronelarda
Ablative	dronedan	dronelardan
Genitive	droneun	droneların

Synonyms[edit]

• insansız hava aracı
• İHA

Asked by: Jazmyne Marvin

Score: 4.9/5
(5 votes)

The term drone was originally used in Old English to refer to a male bee whose only work is to mate with the queen bee. Because of this, the drones have always been identified as idlers. While the worker bees are worrying about collecting nectar and defending the hive, the drones just idle around waiting to mate.

How did the drone get its name?

These radio-controlled aircraft were called RPVs, or «remotely piloted vehicles,» but their military creators and users soon gave up the acronym for something a little more prosaic. There were two meanings for drone then: a «male bee,» or a «monotonous, sustained sound.» Which was the inspiration for applying the term?

Who invented drone first?

The genius and innovative mind behind the predator or drone isAbraham E. Karem. He is also called as the Father of UAV Technology. UAV stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

What is the official name for a drone?

Drones are more formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft systems (UASes). Essentially, a drone is a flying robot that can be remotely controlled or fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems, working in conjunction with onboard sensors and GPS.

Which country made the first drone?

In 1935 the British produced a number of radio-controlled aircraft to be used as targets for training purposes. It’s thought the term ‘drone’ started to be used at this time, inspired by the name of one of these models, the DH. 82B Queen Bee.

33 related questions found

гудение, трутень, жужжание, гудеть, бездельничать, жужжать

существительное ↓

глагол

- гудеть, жужжать (о пчеле и т. п.)
- говорить, читать и т. п. петь монотонно; бубнить; гудеть (тж. drone out)

Словосочетания

drone rocket — радиоуправляемый реактивный снаряд  
bomber drone — беспилотный бомбардировщик  
drone-breeding queen — трутневая матка  
drone brood — трутневый расплод  
drone aircraft catapult control craft — катер управления катапультированием беспилотных самолётов  
chaff-dispensing drone precursor — БЛА с автоматом сбрасывания дипольных отражателей, летящий впереди ударных самолётов  
drone-rearing colony — семья для вывода племенных трутней; семья-отец  
drone comb — трутневые соты  
drone deceptive self-screening jammer — передатчик самомаскирующих и дезинформирующих помех беспилотных летательных аппаратов  
decoy drone — отвлекающее беспилотное средство; БЛА носитель средств РЭП; БЛА ЛЦ  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Формы слова

verb
I/you/we/they: drone
he/she/it: drones
ing ф. (present participle): droning
2-я ф. (past tense): droned
3-я ф. (past participle): droned

noun
ед. ч.(singular): drone
мн. ч.(plural): drones