Definition

1. Verb:
   • To swarm (of bees): Refers specifically to the action of a bee colony dividing and a large group of bees, including a new queen, leaving the original hive to establish a new colony.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đàn ong đang chuẩn bị san đàn. (The bee colony is preparing to swarm.)
  • Mùa xuân là thời điểm ong thường san đàn. (Spring is the time when bees often swarm.)

Advanced Usage

• "san đàn" is a specialized term used almost exclusively in apiculture (beekeeping) to describe the natural reproductive process of a honeybee colony. It is not typically used in a general or metaphorical sense.

Variants and Related Words

• Bầy ong san đàn (noun phrase): A swarming bee colony; the swarm itself.
  • Người nuôi ong phải quản lý hiện tượng bầy ong san đàn. (Beekeepers must manage the phenomenon of bee swarming.)

Synonyms

• Chia đàn: To divide the colony (a less common synonym with the same specific meaning in beekeeping).
• Bốc bay: To fly off in a swarm (descriptive, but not a technical term).

Notes on Meaning

• The term "san đàn" is highly specific. It does not mean simply "to gather in a group" or "to crowd." The English equivalent "to swarm" can be used more broadly (e.g., people swarming a store), but "san đàn" in Vietnamese is restricted to the behavior of bees.
• The reference to "rejet; rejeton" (reject; offspring) in the historical French-Vietnamese dictionary hints at the concept of the colony casting off or producing a new generation to form a separate group.

1. Swarm (of bees)