DRONE, noun [G., to tinkle, to shake, to tingle.] 1. The male of the honey bee. It is smaller than the queen bee, but larger than the working bee. The drones make no honey, but after living a few weeks, they are killed or driven from the hive. Hence, 2. An idler; a sluggard; one who earns nothing by industry. 3. A humming or low sound, or the instrument of humming. 4. The largest tube of the bag-pipe, which emits a continued deep note. DRONE, verb intransitive 1. To live in idleness; as a droning king. 2. To give a low, heavy, dull sound; as the cymbals droning sound.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI