Apiform

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having characteristics similar to those of bees, particularly in shape or features
2. Relating to organisms that exhibit bee-like traits in their form and structure
3. Exhibiting shape or features that resemble those of bees

Etymology: "Apiform" is a plain compound: the Latin "apis," meaning bee, combined with the English suffix "-form," meaning having the shape or form of something. The word describes anything shaped like a bee, or resembling one in structure. The first element, "api-," comes straight from Latin, where "apis" was the ordinary word for a honeybee. English has taken it into a number of scientific terms, usually in the sense of bees or beekeeping, while "-form" is a familiar combining element used to build adjectives such as "cruciform" or "vermiform." Put together, the two parts give a precise descriptive term rather than a word with a longer story behind it.