Bee
Old English bēo, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bij and German dialect Beie .
wiktionary
From Middle English bee, from Old English bēo, from Proto-Germanic *bijō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰey-.
Possibly from dialectal bene, been, bean(“help given by neighbours”), from Middle English been, bene(“neighbourly help, prayer, petition, request, extra service given by a tenant to his lord”), [1] [2] from Old English bēn(“prayer, request, petition, favour, compulsory service”) from Proto-Germanic *bōniz(“prayer, request, supplication”). Cognate with Danish bøn(“prayer”), Dutch ban(“curse”), German Bann(“ban”). More at ban.
From Middle English beeȝ, bie, bei, begh, beiȝe, bege, beah, bye, from Old English bēah, bēag, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz.
Variant spellings.
From Middle English[Term?], from Old English be, from Latin be(the name of the letter B).
Probably from Old English bēah(“ring”). Compare bow.
etymonline
bee (n.)
stinging insect of the genus Apis, living in societies under a queen and producing wax and honey, Old English beo "bee," from Proto-Germanic *bion (source also of Old Norse by, Old High German bia, Middle Dutch bie), from PIE root *bhei- "bee."
Used metaphorically for "busy worker" since 1530s. Sense of "meeting of neighbors to unite their labor for the benefit of one of their number," 1769, American English, probably is from comparison to the combined labor and social activity of the insect; this was extended to other senses (such as spelling bee, attested by 1809; Raising-bee (1814) for building construction; quilting bee (1824, see quilt (v.)); logging-bee for a log-rolling; paring-bee for preparing harvested apples; also hanging bee "a lynching").
To have a bee in (one's) bonnet (1825), said of one who is harebrained or has an intense new notion or fancy, is said in Jamieson to be Scottish, perhaps from earlier expressions such as head full of bees (1510s), denoting mad mental activity.
