hornet

H4O1R1N1E1T1
UK/ˈhɔː.nɪt/US/ˈhɔɹ.nɪt/

noun

Any large wasp of the genus Vespa, having a brown-and-yellow-striped body and the ability to inflict a serious sting.

OriginMiddle English hernet ← Old English hyrnetu ← Proto-West Germanic *hurnutu →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

hornet1

nounhornet (plural hornets)

plural hornets

  1. Any large wasp of the genus Vespa, having a brown-and-yellow-striped body and the ability to inflict a serious sting.
  2. A person who pesters with petty but ceaseless attacks.

Hornet2

nounHornet (plural Hornets)

plural Hornets

  1. ball gamessomeone connected with Watford Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱr̥h₂sro-“hornet”
  2. Proto-Germanic*hursulǭ
  3. Proto-Germanic*hurznutō
  4. Proto-West Germanic*hurnutu
  5. Old Englishhyrnetu
  6. Middle Englishhernet
  7. Englishhornet

From Middle English hernet, from Old English hyrnetu, hyrnete, from Proto-West Germanic *hurnutu, from Proto-Germanic *hurznutō (compare German Hornisse), alteration of Proto-Germanic *hursulǭ (compare Dutch horzel), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂sro- (“hornet”, literally “the one with horns (antennae)”), from *ḱerh₂- (“horn”) (compare Welsh creyryn (“gadfly”), Latin crābrō (“hornet”), Lithuanian širšė (“wasp”), Proto-Slavic *sьrxy (whence Old Church Slavonic сръшень (srŭšenĭ, “hornet”) and many others), Albanian grerë, grenzë (“wasp, hornet”)).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀνθρηδών
  • ἀνθρηδών (anthrēdṓn)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Arabic زُنْبُور
  • زُنْبُور (zunbūr)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Basque liztortzar
  • liztortzara large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Bengali ভীমরুল
  • ভীমরুল (bhimrul)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Bulgarian стъ́ршел
  • стъ́ршел (stắršel)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Catalan vespa xana
  • vespa xanaa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Chinese Mandarin 大黃蜂 /大黄蜂
  • 大黃蜂 /大黄蜂 (dàhuángfēng)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Czech sršeň
  • sršeňa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Danish hveps, gedehams
  • hvepsa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • gedehamsa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Dutch hoornaar, hoorntje
  • hoornaara large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • hoorntjea large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Esperanto krabro
  • krabroa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Estonian vapsik
  • vapsika large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Finnish herhiläinen
  • herhiläinena large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
French frelon
  • frelona large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
German Hornisse
  • Hornissea large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Greek σερσένι, σκούρκος
  • σερσένι (serséni)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • σκούρκος (skoúrkos)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Hebrew צרעה, דַּבּוּר
  • צרעה (tzir'a)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • דַּבּוּר (dabbúr)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Hungarian lódarázs
  • lódarázsa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Icelandic geitungur
  • geitungura large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Irish cearnabhán, cornfhoiche
  • cearnabhána large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • cornfhoichea large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Italian calabrone
  • calabronea large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Japanese 雀蜂, スズメバチ
  • 雀蜂 (suzumebachi)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • スズメバチ (suzumebachi)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Korean 말벌, 호넷
  • 말벌 (malbeol)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • 호넷 (honet)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Latin crābrō
  • crābrōa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Latvian sirsenis, irsis
  • sirsenisa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • irsisa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Lithuanian širšė
  • širšėa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Malay tebuan
  • tebuana large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Norwegian geithams
  • geithamsa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Persian سرخزنبور, زنبور سرخ
  • سرخزنبور (sorx-zanbur)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • زنبور سرخ (zanbur-e sorx)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • زنبور کافر (zanbur-e kâfar)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Polish szerszeń
  • szerszeńa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Portuguese vespão, abelha-pedreira
  • vespãoa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • abelha-pedreiraa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Romanian gărgăun
  • gărgăuna large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Russian ше́ршень
  • ше́ршень (šéršenʹ)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Scottish Gaelic connspeach
  • connspeacha large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Slovak sršeň
  • sršeňa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Spanish avispón
  • avispóna large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Swedish bålgeting
  • bålgetinga large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Thai แตน
  • แตน (dtɛɛn)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Turkish eşek arısı
  • eşek arısıa large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Ukrainian ше́ршень
  • ше́ршень (šéršenʹ)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Welsh cacynen feirch, marchgacynen
  • cacynen feircha large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
  • marchgacynena large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body
Yiddish פֿערדבין
  • פֿערדבין (ferdbin)a large wasp, of the genus Vespa, with a brown-and-yellow-striped body

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with hornet

cornet
All rhymes →

Anagrams

throneTheronThornenotherThorenRhotenenhort
Cite this entry
APA

hornet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hornet

MLA

“hornet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hornet. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hornet,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hornet.

Source: hornet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.