Why do they call it a “Spelling Bee”?
Question by yunas_tiger: Why do they call it a “Spelling Bee”?
Why couldn’t they just call it another animal or insect? If they called it a “Spelling Bee”, where did it come from?
Can you help? Leave your own answer in the comments!
3 Responses to Why do they call it a “Spelling Bee”?
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The earliest evidence of the phrase spelling bee in print dates back to 1825, although the contests had apparently been held before that year.[citation needed] (The etymology of the word “bee” in this sense is unclear. Historically, it has described a social congregation where a specific action is being carried out, like a husking bee, or an apple bee.) A key impetus for the contests was Noah Webster’s spelling books. First published in 1786 and known colloquially as “The Blue-backed Speller”, Webster’s spelling books were an essential part of the curriculum of all elementary school children in the United States for five generations.
kiwi_sands
May 2, 2013 at 8:30 am
Because……….
Once upon a time, there was a honey bee that had the brains of Einstein. But his comrades thought he was a jerk for being so smart. He ran away to hide his smarts forever. Then, one day, Honey Bee decided to make a contest for Freaks like himself. And since he loved to spell……the Spelling Bee was born. But then he died because his comrades poisened his pollen.
The End!
Long story, short……..bees are the founding fathers of Spelling Bees
Smartiegirl07
May 2, 2013 at 9:04 am
“bee” here has nothing to do with the letter or insect, though its precise origin is a bit unclear
Some info on the history of the more recent history of the word and on “bees” in general:
“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.”
“Those who used the word. . . thought that this particular meaning had probably been inspired by the obvious similarity between these human gatherings and the industrious, social nature of a beehive. But in recent years scholars have rejected this explanation, suggesting instead that this bee is a completely different word. One possibility is that it comes from the Middle English word bene, which means “a prayer” or “a favor” (and is related to the more familiar word boon). In England, a dialectal form of this word, been or bean, referred to “voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task.” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary). Bee may simply be a shortened form of been, but no one is entirely certain.”
http://www.spellingbee.com/terminology.shtml
Compare http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bee
“perhaps alteration of dialectal bean, voluntary help given to a farmer by his neighbors, from Middle English bene, extra service by a tenant to his lord, from Old English ben, ‘prayer'”
bruhaha
May 2, 2013 at 9:38 am