billet

[bil-it]

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noun

lodging for a soldier, student, etc., as in a private home or nonmilitary public building.

Military. an official order, written or verbal, directing the person to whom it is addressed to provide such lodging.

a place assigned, as a bunk, berth, or the like, to a member of a ship's crew.

job; position; appointment.

Archaic. a written note, short letter, or the like.

verb (used with object), bil·let·ed, bil·let·ing.

Military. to direct (a soldier) by ticket, note, or verbal order, where to lodge.

to provide lodging for; quarter: We arranged with the townspeople to billet the students.

verb (used without object), bil·let·ed, bil·let·ing.

to obtain lodging; stay: They billeted in youth hostels.

Origin of billet

1375–1425; late Middle English bylet, billett official register < Anglo-French billette, Old French bullette, equivalent to bulle bill¹ + -ette -ette

Related formsbil·let·er, nounun·bil·let·ed, adjective

billet

[bil-it]

noun

a small chunk of wood; a short section of a log, especially one cut for fuel.

Metalworking. a comparatively narrow, generally square, bar of steel, especially one rolled or forged from an ingot; a narrow bloom.

an iron or steel slab upon concrete, serving as a footing to a column.

Architecture. any of a series of closely spaced cylindrical objects, often in several rows, used as ornaments in a hollow molding or cornice.

a strap that passes through a buckle, as to connect the ends of a girth.

a pocket or loop for securing the end of a strap that has been buckled.

thumbpiece.

Heraldry. a small, rectangular figure with the longer sides generally vertical, said to represent a block of wood.

Origin of billet

1400–50; late Middle English bylet, bel(l)et < Anglo-French, Middle French billette, equivalent to bille log, tree trunk (< Gaulish *bilia tree trunk; compare Old Irish bile landmark tree) + -ette -ette

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for billet

berth, dwelling, harbor, house, camp, quarters, hut, residence, lodge, canton

Examples from the Web for billet

Historical Examples of billet

In support of his deposition he produced his billet de garde, dated the 8th.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
Yes—Mademoiselle had charged her to remit the billet to Monsieur.
The Incomplete Amorist
E. Nesbit
I smiled, I believe rather sarcastically, and opened the billet.
Beaux and Belles of England
Mary Robinson
This obliged the Chevalier to write him a billet, which was rather laconic.
The Memoirs of Count Grammont, Complete
Anthony Hamilton
He was delighted to have my billet, and embracing me, he thanked me a thousand times.
The Phantom World
Augustin Calmet

British Dictionary definitions for billet

billet

noun

accommodation, esp for a soldier, in civilian lodgings

the official requisition for such lodgings

a space or berth allocated, esp for slinging a hammock, in a ship

informal a job

archaic a brief letter or document

verb -lets, -leting or -leted

(tr) to assign a lodging to (a soldier)

(tr) informal to assign to a post or job

to lodge or be lodged

Derived Formsbilletee, nounbilleter, noun

Word Origin for billet

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

billet

noun

a chunk of wood, esp for fuel

metallurgy

a metal bar of square or circular cross section
an ingot cast into the shape of a prism

architect a carved ornament in a moulding, with short cylinders or blocks evenly spaced

Word Origin for billet

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for billet

1590s, "to assign quarters to," earlier, as a noun, "official record or register" (Middle English), from Anglo-French billette "list, schedule," diminutive of bille (see bill (n.1)). Related: Billeted; billeting.

n.1

thick stick of wood, mid-15c., from Middle French billette, diminutive of bille "stick of wood" (see billiards).

n.2

"document, note;" see billet-doux.