billet

¹

[ bil-it ]

noun

1. lodging for a soldier, student, etc., as in a private home or nonmilitary public building.
2. Military. an official order, written or verbal, directing the person to whom it is addressed to provide such lodging.
3. a place assigned, as a bunk, berth, or the like, to a member of a ship's crew.
4. job; position; appointment.
5. Archaic. a written note, short letter, or the like.

verb (used with object)

, bil·let·ed, bil·let·ing.

1. Military. to direct (a soldier) by ticket, note, or verbal order, where to lodge.
2. to provide lodging for; quarter:

   We arranged with the townspeople to billet the students.

verb (used without object)

, bil·let·ed, bil·let·ing.

1. to obtain lodging; stay:

   They billeted in youth hostels.

billet

²

[ bil-it ]

noun

1. a small chunk of wood; a short section of a log, especially one cut for fuel.
2. Metalworking. a comparatively narrow, generally square, bar of steel, especially one rolled or forged from an ingot; a narrow bloom.
3. an iron or steel slab upon concrete, serving as a footing to a column.
4. Architecture. any of a series of closely spaced cylindrical objects, often in several rows, used as ornaments in a hollow molding or cornice.
5. a strap that passes through a buckle, as to connect the ends of a girth.
6. a pocket or loop for securing the end of a strap that has been buckled.
7. thumbpiece.
8. Heraldry. a small, rectangular figure with the longer sides generally vertical, said to represent a block of wood.

billet

¹

/ ˈbɪlɪt /

noun

1. accommodation, esp for a soldier, in civilian lodgings
2. the official requisition for such lodgings
3. a space or berth allocated, esp for slinging a hammock, in a ship
4. informal.
   a job
5. archaic.
   a brief letter or document

verb

1. tr to assign a lodging to (a soldier)
2. informal.
   tr to assign to a post or job
3. to lodge or be lodged

billet

²

/ ˈbɪlɪt /

noun

1. a chunk of wood, esp for fuel
2. metallurgy
   1. a metal bar of square or circular cross section
   2. an ingot cast into the shape of a prism
3. architect a carved ornament in a moulding, with short cylinders or blocks evenly spaced

Derived Forms

• ˌbilletˈee, noun
• ˈbilleter, noun

Other Words From

• billet·er noun
• un·billet·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of billet¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English billet, bylet “official register; record,” from Anglo-French, Old French billette, variant of Old French bullette, equivalent to bulle bill ¹ + -ette -ette

Origin of billet²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English billet, bylet, from Old French billette, equivalent to bille “log, tree trunk” (from unrecorded Gaulish bilia “tree trunk”; compare Old Irish bile “landmark tree”) + -ette -ette

Word History and Origins

Origin of billet¹

C15: from Old French billette , from bulle a document; see bull ³

Origin of billet²

C15: from Old French billette a little log, from bille log, probably of Celtic origin

Example Sentences

My office still has no billet and no funding, this year and the next.

From Popular-Science

Fighting fires isn’t a specific military billet, but it fits under the broader umbrella of tasks the military has to do in addition to the work of war.

From Popular-Science

He doesn't believe in my zeal for efficiency at Mudros; he thinks my little plan is to work General Ellison into the billet.

From Project Gutenberg

What were invasions and armies—what were kings and kingdoms—to the slightest wish of the being who had written this billet?

From Project Gutenberg

One end of the bar is flattened and pierced with small holes, while at the other a billet of wood is suspended from a chain.

From Project Gutenberg

Afterwards I hurried to my billet and hastily packed up all my kit, and marched the regiment down to the trenches.

From Project Gutenberg

In passing through the yard, the leader of the band fell over a billet of wood, and received a momentary hurt from the fall.

From Project Gutenberg