Why is a 'spelling bee' so called?

Tabby Tom

Bees are social insects, and so the word 'bee' was used for gatherings of neighbours working together for the common good or for the benefit of an individual. Farmers would organize 'apple bees' or 'husking bees' and housewives would get together in 'sewing bees' or 'quilting bees'. Hence, when people got together to spell words, the gathering was called a 'spelling bee'. (Adapted from explanations in Brewer and the OED). Mar 31 03, 8:48 PM

Fosse4

It's a social gathering of like-minded people in the USA. (Brewers Phrase and Fable) presumably it's used because bees have a social life! Mar 31 03, 8:49 PM

Linus

Bees are industrious little creatures, and have been used as symbols of dedication to work ('busy as a bee') since at least Chaucer's time. The image of thousands of bees in a hive tirelessly working away at their little bee-tasks (making honey, storing honey, planning to sting me) makes a good metaphor for a community or group uniting in a common task, and such unified efforts came to be known as 'bees' in Colonial America. 'Bees' were usually a group effort for the benefit of one member who could not have handled the task (raising a barn, for instance) alone, and 'husking bees' and 'apple bees' where crops were gathered and prepared for storage were common. 'Quilting bees,' where the women of a community gathered to create a quilt while passing on the skills to a younger generation, were also an important social institution in Early America. In an extended sense, 'bee' also came to mean any community gathering for a specific purpose, giving us 'spelling bees' in the late 1800s. http://www.word-detective.com/112402.html Mar 31 03, 8:54 PM

McGruff

Question #70673. darkpresence asks: Where did the 'spelling bee' get its name? arctic_wolves answers: The word bee, as used in spelling bee, is a language puzzle that has never been satisfactorily accounted for. A fairly old and widely-used word, it refers to a community social gathering at which friends and neighbors join together in a single activity (sewing, quilting, barn raising, etc.), usually to help one person or family. The earliest known example in print is a spinning bee, in 1769. Other early occurrences are husking bee (1816), apple bee (1827), and logging bee (1836). Spelling bee is apparently an American term. It first appeared in print in 1875, but it seems certain that the word was used orally for several years before that. http://www.spellingbee.com/terminology.shtml Sep 12 06, 6:37 PM Mar 18 08, 12:47 AM

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