BharatNotes Drone
noun (countable); also verb (intransitive): to drone = to make a continuous low soundUsage in a UPSC answer
The Kisan Drone initiative, which subsidises drone deployment for crop-health surveillance and nano-urea spraying across identified FPO clusters, exemplifies precision agriculture's potential to reduce agrochemical input costs while simultaneously generating rural employment in drone operation and maintenance.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
drone (n/v), droning (adj/v), UAV (abbr), UAS (abbr), drone operator (n phrase), drone swarm (n phrase), BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight, acronym)
Root
Old English dran = male bee (the non-working bee that makes a low buzzing sound); the UAV sense is borrowed from the insect's characteristic monotone hum, applied from the 1930s to radio-controlled aircraft
Etymology
The Old English dran and Old High German treno denoted the male honeybee, noted for its low buzzing sound and lack of productive work. The military UAV sense — a remote-controlled target aircraft — was coined in the 1930s; the modern civilian multirotor drone popularised from 2010 retains the same word. The connection is sonic: both the bee and the aircraft make a persistent, droning hum.
Memory Hook
DRONE from Old English dran (male bee that drones/buzzes) — both the insect and the aircraft make a persistent low hum. Picture a swarm of bees over a field and replace them with quadcopters: the buzzing is identical. The word flew from the beehive to the sky.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Prelims 2025 — Internal Security
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Drone” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
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