(1850) "She is gone out with Cousin Deborah to an apple bee." – Charlotte Mary Yonge, The Trial; or More Links of the Daisy Chain (1864) Etymology The origin of the word bee in this sense is debated. Because it describes people working together in a social group, a common belief is that it derives from the insect of the same name and similar social behaviour. This derivation appears in, for example, the Oxford English Dictionary. Other dictionaries, however, regard this as a false etymology, and suggest that the word comes from dialectal been or bean (meaning 'help given by neighbours'), derived in turn from Middle English (meaning 'prayer', 'boon' and 'extra service by a tenant to his lord'). See also Sharing References Competitions Mutualism (movement) Social groups