mumble-bee

English

Etymology

Origin uncertain; apparently an alteration of bumblebee. According to Wilfrid Granville (A Dictionary of Sailors’ Slang, 1962), “they were modelled on the oyster-fishing boats of the Mumbles district near Swansea”.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmʌmbl̩bi/

Noun

mumble-bee (plural mumble-bees)

  1. (Devon, historical) A kind of small trawling vessel.

References

  1. ^ “mumble-bee”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
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