billy

¹

[ bil-ee ]

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.
5. Textiles. (in Great Britain) a roving machine.

Billy

²

[ bil-ee ]

noun

1. a first name, often a form of William.

billy

¹

/ ˈbɪlɪˌkæn; ˈbɪlɪ /

noun

1. a metal can or pot for boiling water, etc, over a campfire
2. ( as modifier )

   billy-tea

3. informal.
   to make tea

billy

²

/ ˈbɪlɪ /

noun

1. a wooden club esp a police officer's truncheon

Word History and Origins

Origin of billy¹

Perhaps all independently derived generic uses of Billy (male name); for Australian sense compare Scots dialect billy-pot cooking pot

Word History and Origins

Origin of billy¹

C19: from Scot billypot cooking vessel

Origin of billy²

C19: special use of the name Billy , pet form of William

Example Sentences

When Wanda breaks open the Hex for the Westview townspeople to escape in the finale, Vision, Tommy and Billy all begin to come apart in pieces.

From Time

As for her kids, the scene is heavily referencing Billy and Tommy’s comic book storyline in which they’re created by magic — as they are in WandaVision — and then absorbed by a demon named Mephisto.

From Vox

Shortly after that encounter, a young man named Billy — who is obsessed with serial killers and who’s just escaped from a hospital psychiatric ward — breaks into Isaiah’s kitchen.

From Washington Post

Even as he knows not to get involved, Isaiah agrees to hide Billy from that same local police officer who gave him such a nasty welcome to Coronado Springs.

From Washington Post

While Jimmy Carter was president of the United States, his younger brother, Billy, a brewer, endorsed Billy Beer, which featured his signature.

From Nautilus

How fitting that Joe Cocker would get a little help from his friend Billy Joel.

From The Daily Beast

On piano was legendary session man Billy Preston, who co-wrote and recorded the original version one year before Cocker's.

From The Daily Beast

“So I tell you this, Billy-boy,” he writes to William Styron in 1958.

From The Daily Beast

But Billy Childs absolutely delivers the goods in this poignant collection of Laura Nyro songs.

From The Daily Beast

Singers Nancy Wilson and Billy Eckstine attended, and actor and activist Ossie Davis delivered a well-received speech.

From The Daily Beast

And saying a hasty good afternoon, he popped through his doorway and vanished at Billy Woodchuck's feet.

From Project Gutenberg

And being very fond of clover blossoms, Billy hated to spend his time digging.

From Project Gutenberg

There was only one reason why Billy Woodchuck didn't exactly care to dig a new home for himself in the pasture just then.

From Project Gutenberg

Billy Woodchuck exclaimed, for he had heard somewhere that if you want a thing done, you should get a busy person to do it.

From Project Gutenberg

And he had already turned away, as if the business were ended, when Billy Woodchuck stopped him again.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cudgel
• mace
• nightstick
• rod
• truncheon
• wand