You see, it's a bit more complicated. I already chased it as far as the Oxford English Dictionary goes -- to the dead end. I don't know anyone who can wax eloquently in Dutch, but there's this:

Bij, noun.   bee, 

Bij, preposition.   by, with, among, near, about, at, upon, on, to, in of.

Bijeen, adverb.  together

Bijeenkomen, verb. to assemble, to meet, come together.

So, the question is, which came first? Bij or bijeen? Obviously, there is a plausible connection. But, are bees called that because they are assembled in a group, or is a group called that because they are like bees? We need a Dutch speaker here!

Piet van der Borst

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