Βομβυλιός
bumble[bee]
Translated by Jennifer Benedict19 Apr 2002Vetting: high2 revisions
Translation
A type of bee. And it is said [as a derivation] from bombein ["to bumble"]. And [there is] a proverb: "bumblebee fellow", in reference to one who is ineffectual, insofar as the bumblebee is a type of bee which moulds its honeycombs out of clay.1
Greek original · Adler’s text
Βομβυλιός· εἶδος μελίσσης. καὶ εἴρηται παρὰ τὸ βομβεῖν. καὶ παροιμία· Βομβυλιὸς ἄνθρωπος, ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀκάρπου, παρόσον καὶ βομβυλιός ἐστι μελίσσης εἶδος, ἐκ πηλοῦ πλαττούσης τὰ κηρία.