mumble-bee

noun

mumble-bee

noun

/ˈmʌmbl̩bi/

Etymology Origin uncertain; apparently an alteration of bumblebee. According to Wilfrid Granville (A Dictionary of Sailors’ Slang, 1962), “they were modelled on the oyster-fishing boats of the Mumbles district near Swansea”.

1

Devon, Historical A kind of small trawling vessel.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.