bilbo
noun
a long iron bar or bolt with sliding shackles and a lock, formerly attached to the ankles of prisoners.
bilbo
1 American
[bil-boh]
/ ˈbɪl boʊ /
noun
-
bilboes
plural
bilbo
2
American
[bil-boh]
/ ˈbɪl boʊ /
noun
Archaic.
-
bilboes
plural
Bilbo
3
American
[bil-boh]
/ ˈbɪl boʊ /
noun
bilbo
British
/ ˈbɪlbəʊ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bilbo1
First recorded in 1550–60; earlier bilbow < ?
Origin of bilbo2
1585–95; short for Bilboa blade sword made in Bilboa (variant of Bilbao )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The French marine still use a kind of leg-iron of the bilbo type.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 3 "Fenton, Edward" to "Finistere" by Various
Sir Iohn, and Maister mine, I combat craue Of this same laten bilbo.
From The Merry Wives of Windsor The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] by John Glover
Out with your bilbo and maintain your words.'
From Micah Clarke His Statement as made to his three grandchildren Joseph, Gervas and Reuben During the Hard Winter of 1734 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I wear a bilbo by my side, as you can see.
From Micah Clarke His Statement as made to his three grandchildren Joseph, Gervas and Reuben During the Hard Winter of 1734 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Hence Falstaff describes himself in the buck-basket as— "Compassed, like a good bilbo, in the circumference of a peck, hilt to point, heel to head."
From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley
Previously known for: The U.K. version of “The Office,” as Ricky Gervais’ droll underling Tim and “The Hobbit” trilogy in the role of heroic Bilbo Baggins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
The tale of Bilbo Baggins and his adventures through Middle Earth was written by Tolkien during his time in Oxford.
From BBC ● May 20, 2024
Mr. Dawood wrote in a Facebook post last year from a trip in Iceland, quoting Bilbo Baggins from “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
A: The rings of power takes place in the Second Age, which is thousands of years before the events of the Third Age, which most people know — Frodo and Bilbo and all of that.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2022
‘We have seen you often before with Bilbo, though you may not have seen us.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Now, sir, if you are in no great hurry, and have a mind to travel in company with a martyr, just as soon as I am free of these bilboes, we'll take the road together.
From The Amateur Gentleman by Jeffery Farnol
Whether the Spanish Armada story is true or not, bilboes were certainly much used on board ship.
From Curious Punishments of Bygone Days by Alice Morse Earle
John Smith, of Medford, for ſwearing, being penitent, was ſet in bilboes.
From The Olden Time Series, Vol. 5: Some Strange and Curious Punishments Gleanings Chiefly from Old Newspapers of Boston and Salem, Massachusetts by Henry M. (Henry Mason) Brooks
In the very oldest court records, which are still preserved, of the settlement of Boston—the Bay colony—appear the frequent sentences of offenders to be placed in the bilboes.
From Curious Punishments of Bygone Days by Alice Morse Earle
They were right glad that I should come down to you, and I gave them the word of a sailor that I would get you out of the bilboes if it might anyhow be done.'
From Micah Clarke His Statement as made to his three grandchildren Joseph, Gervas and Reuben During the Hard Winter of 1734 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
