honey guide
- noun
- Indian
:
guía de miel
- The honey guide is known for leading people to bee nests so they can gather honey.
Examples
-
Farmers in Africa often rely on the honey guide to help them find beehives safely.
-
"Have you ever seen a honey guide?" he asked.
Fiction book (1994) -
We caught the whole fantastic scene on our holos, and when he was done, he did indeed leave some honey for the honey guide.
Fiction book (1994) -
The honey guide showed them where the nest was, the bee's nest was, and it is only fair, therefore, that the honey guide should get a reward.
-
While foraging in the forest, I spotted a honey guide searching for larvae in an old hive.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is transparently built from 'honey' (the substance) + 'guide' (one who leads), so a learner can infer it denotes something that guides to or is associated with honey. This compositional pattern (noun modifier + guide) makes it predictable that the term refers to a creature or thing that leads to honey, so a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably deduce the meaning.
Etymology
Honey guide gets its name from a simple scene: the bird leads people or animals to wild bee nests so they can take honey. After the honey is taken, the bird eats the wax and young bees, so the words honey meaning 'what it finds' and guide meaning 'what it does' explain the name.
