Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HON'EY, n. [hun'y; Sax. hunig; G. honig; D. honig, honing; Sw. håning; Dan. honning.]

1. A sweet vegetable juice, collected by bees from the flowers of plants, and deposited in cells of the comb in hives. Honey, when pure, is of a moderate consistence, of a whitish color, tinged with yellow, sweet to the taste, of an agreeable smell, soluble in water, and becoming vinous by fermentation. In medicine, it is useful as a detergent and aperient. It is supposed to consist of sugar, mucilage, and an acid. Encyc. Ure.
2. Sweetness; lusciousness. The king hath found, / Matter against him, that forever mars / The honey of his language. Shak.
3. A word of tenderness; sweetness; sweet one. Dryden.