Spanish word

colmena

Pronunciation

IPA/kolˈmena/

Meaning

  • feminine nounbeehive

Example

Encontramos una colmena en el jardín.

We found a beehive in the garden.

Illustration for colmena (beehive)

More examples

Observamos una colmena silvestre en el bosque.

We observed a wild beehive in the forest.

Core concept

A wooden beehive with bees entering and leaving through a small opening.

Common phrases

  • colmena silvestre

    wild beehive

  • colmena de jardín

    garden beehive

Similar words

panal: Honeycomb made of hexagonal wax cells that holds honey and brood.
abeja: Flying insect that gathers nectar and pollen and helps pollinate flowers.
enjambre: Large group of bees that gather or fly together, often during swarming.
nido: Shelter that animals build to hold and protect eggs or young.

Definition in Spanish

Lugar o estructura donde habitan las abejas; por extensión, lugar muy concurrido o con mucha actividad.

Word origin

From Latin culmen 'roof', Spanish colmena develops through medieval forms to name a bees' nest and later acquires the figurative sense 'busy place'.

Usage tips

  • The noun is feminine (la colmena), stressed on the second syllable col-ME-na, and it often appears metaphorically in phrases like 'una colmena de actividad' to describe bustling places.

Related words

  • colmenerobeekeepernoun

Word lists with this word