20 Facts Every Harry Potter Super-Nerd Should Know

By Mavra Choudhry /

19. Dumbledore Means Bumblebee

The Early Modern English word for male bees was €˜dore€™, (the etymological root of €˜drone€™, another word for the male honeybee). To get the same effect of the drowsy, buzzing, summery sound of humming bees that €œbumblebee€ gives today, the previous incarnation of the word was, yes, €œDumbledore€. This was intentional on Rowling€™s part: Dumbledore has been said to have greatly loved music (particularly chamber music, according to his Chocolate Frog card), and she selected the name because it was easy to imagine everybody€™s favourite headmaster walking around, genially humming to himself in the summertime.