Betty lamp

or betty lamp

noun

1. an Early American lamp, consisting of a shallow, covered basin filled with oil, tallow, etc., providing fuel for a wick housed in a teapotlike spout, and often hung by a hook or suspended from a chain.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Betty lamp¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Sometimes by the light of a betty lamp in the early winter evenings the journeymen would be still at work, drawing the waxed thread carefully and quickly through the leather.

From Project Gutenberg

Seating himself on a bench he lit the betty lamp on the wall, and laying out his knives and gouges he began to carve a face on the wood.

From Project Gutenberg

Then came the Betty lamp, a shallow receptacle, in form either circular, oval, or triangular, and made of pewter, iron, or brass.

From Project Gutenberg

A phœbe lamp resembled a betty lamp, but had a shallow cup underneath to catch the dripping grease.

From Project Gutenberg