drone

From Middle English drone, from Old English drān, drǣn ‎(“male bee, drone”), from Proto-Germanic *drēniz, *drēnuz, *drenô ‎(“an insect, drone”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrēn- ‎(“bee, drone, hornet”). Cognate with Dutch drone ‎(“male bee or wasp”), Low German drone ‎(“drone”), German Drohne, dialectal German Dräne, Trehne, Trene ‎(“drone”), Danish drone ‎(“drone”), Swedish drönje, drönare ‎(“drone”).

In sense “unmanned aircraft”, due to early military UAVs dumbly flying on preset paths