billy
Use Billy in a sentence
i noun, plural bil·lies.
1.
Also called billy club. a police officer's club or baton.
2.
a heavy wooden stick used as a weapon; cudgel.
3.
Scot. Dialect, comrade.
4.
Also called bil·ly·can [bil-ee-kan] . Australian. any container in which water may be carried and boiled over a campfire, ranging from a makeshift tin can to a special earthenware kettle; any pot or kettle in which tea is boiled over a campfire.
[bil-ee-kan] . Australian. any container in which water may be carried and boiled over a campfire, ranging from a makeshift tin can to a special earthenware kettle; any pot or kettle in which tea is boiled over a campfire. 5.
Textiles. (in Great Britain) a roving machine.
Origin:
perhaps all independently derived generic uses of Billy (male name); for Australian sense compare Scots dialect billy-pot cooking pot
perhaps all independently derived generic uses of Billy (male name); for Australian sense compare Scots dialect billy-pot cooking pot
00:10
Billy
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To billy
Collins
World English Dictionary
billy1 (ˈbɪlɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -lies | |
| (US), (Canadian) a wooden club esp a police officer's truncheon | |
| [C19: special use of the name Billy, pet form of William] | |
| billy or billycan2 (ˈbɪlɪ, ˈbɪlɪˌkæn) | |
| —n , pl -lies, -lycans | |
| 1. | a metal can or pot for boiling water, etc, over a campfire |
| 2. | (Austral), (NZ) (as modifier): billy-tea |
| 3. | informal (Austral), (NZ) to make tea |
| [C19: from Scot billypot cooking vessel] | |
| billycan or billycan2 | |
| —n | |
| [C19: from Scot billypot cooking vessel] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
billy
"club," 1848, Amer.Eng., originally burglars' slang for "crowbar;" meaning "policeman's club" first recorded 1856, probably from nickname of William, applied to various objects (cf. jack, jimmy, jenny).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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