Making a continuous humming sound like a bee; also means being in a state of excitement or activity.
From Middle English 'bursen,' an imitative word meant to reproduce the sound itself. The '-ing' form shows the ongoing action. The metaphorical meaning (excitement) developed because buzzing activity feels energetic and busy.
Onomatopoeia like 'buzz' are fascinating because different languages imitate the same sound differently—English 'buzz,' French 'bourdonnement,' and Japanese 'buun' all describe bee sounds, yet sound completely different to speakers of each language!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.