Also called bil·ly·can[bil-ee-kan]/ˈbɪl iˌkæn/. 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.
Textiles. (in Great Britain) a roving machine.
Origin of billy
perhaps all independently derived generic uses of Billy (male name); for Australian sense compare Scots dialectbilly-pot cooking pot
US and Canadiana wooden club esp a police officer's truncheon
Word Origin for billy
C19: special use of the name Billy, pet form of William
billy
2
billycan (ˈbɪlɪˌkæn)
nounplural-liesor-lycans
a metal can or pot for boiling water, etc, over a campfire
Australian and NZ(as modifier)billy-tea
Australian and NZinformalto make tea
Word Origin for billy
C19: from Scot billypot cooking vessel
bishop
noun
(in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Greek Orthodox Churches) a clergyman having spiritual and administrative powers over a diocese or province of the ChurchSee also suffragan Related adjective: episcopal
(in some Protestant Churches) a spiritual overseer of a local church or a number of churches
a chesspiece, capable of moving diagonally over any number of unoccupied squares of the same colour
mulled wine, usually port, spiced with oranges, cloves, etc
Word Origin for bishop
Old English biscop, from Late Latin epīscopus, from Greek episkopos, from epi- + skopos watcher
Bishop
noun
Elizabeth . 1911–79, US poet, who lived in Brazil. Her poetry reflects her travelling experience, esp in the tropics
graham
noun
(modifier)mainlyUS and Canadianmade of graham flourgraham crackers
Word Origin for graham
C19: named after S. Graham (1794–1851), American dietetic reformer
Graham
noun
Martha. 1893–1991, US dancer and choreographer
Thomas. 1805–69, British physicist: proposed Graham's law (1831) of gaseous diffusion and coined the terms osmosis, crystalloids, and colloids
William Franklin, known as Billy Graham. born 1918, US evangelist
Strayhorn
noun
Billy, full name William Strayhorn. 1915–67, US jazz composer and pianist, noted esp for his association (1939–67) with Duke Ellington
"club," 1848, American English, originally burglars' slang for "crowbar;" meaning "policeman's club" first recorded 1856, probably from nickname of William, applied to various objects (cf. jack, jimmy, jenny).
bishop
n.
Old English bisceop "bishop, high priest (Jewish or pagan)," from Late Latin episcopus, from Greek episkopos "watcher, overseer," a title for various government officials, later taken over in a Church sense, from epi- "over" (see epi-) + skopos "watcher," from skeptesthai "look at" (see scope (n.1)). Given a specific sense in the Church, but the word also was used in the New Testament as a descriptive title for elders, and continues as such in some non-hierarchical Christian sects.
A curious example of word-change, as effected by the genius of different tongues, is furnished by the English bishop and the French évêque. Both are from the same root, furnishing, perhaps the only example of two words from a common stem so modifying themselves in historical times as not to have a letter in common. (Of course many words from a far off Aryan stem are in the same condition.) The English strikes off the initial and terminal syllables, leaving only piscop, which the Saxon preference for the softer labial and hissing sounds modified into bishop. Évêque (formerly evesque) merely softens the p into v and drops the last syllable. [William S. Walsh, "Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities," Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott, 1892]
Late Latin episcopus in Spanish became obispo. Cognate with Old Saxon biscop, Old High German biscof. The chess piece (formerly archer, before that alfin) was so called from 1560s.
Graham
in reference to crackers, etc., from unsifted whole-wheat flour, 1834, American English, from Sylvester Graham (1794-1851), U.S. dietetic reformer and temperance advocate. The family name is attested from early 12c., an Anglo-French form of the place name Grantham (Lincolnshire).
American molecular biologist who, working with Harold Varmus, discovered oncogenes. For this work, Bishop and Varmus shared the 1989 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.
