drone

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A male ant, bee, or wasp, which does not work but can fertilize the queen.

   All with united force combine to drive / The lazy drones from the laborious hive.

2. 2
   noun

   One who does not work; a lazy person, an idler.

   SHYLOCK: / The patch is kind enough, but a huge feeder, / Snail-slow in profit, and he sleeps by day / More than the wild-cat; drones hive not with me; / Therefore I part with him; and part with him / To one what I would have him help to waste / His borrowed purse. […].

3. 3
   noun

   A remotely operated vehicle.

   Several images of the compound were obtained via a drone overflight.

4. 4
   noun

   A Toyota HiAce or a similar van, especially one used by Ugandan state agents to kidnap opposition members.

   The van is locally referred to as "a drone" because it is compact and stable under extreme conditions. It is also very fast. Technically though, it is a Toyota Hiace, which is usually used for commercial purposes.

From Middle English drane, from Old English drān, from Proto-West Germanic *drānu, from Proto-Germanic *drēniz, *drēnuz, *drenô (“an insect, drone”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreh₁n- (“bee, drone, hornet”). Cognate with Danish drone (“drone”), Dutch dar (“male bee or wasp”), German Drohne, dialectal German Dräne, Trehne, Trene (“drone”), Low German drone (“drone”), Swedish drönje, drönare (“drone”). The etymology of the sense of "remote-controlled aircraft" is disputed; theories include early military UAVs dumbly flying on preset paths.

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