billy

[ bil-ee ]

/ ˈbɪl i /

noun, plural bil·lies.

Also called billy club. a police officer's club or baton.

a heavy wooden stick used as a weapon; cudgel.

Scot. Dialect. comrade.

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.

Nearby words

billowy, billposter, billroth's operation i, billroth's operation ii, billsticker, billycan, billy budd, billy club, billy goat, billy no-mates, billy the kid

Origin of billy

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

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

British Dictionary definitions for billycan (1 of 2)

billy

/ (ˈbɪlɪ) /

noun plural -lies

US and Canadian a wooden club esp a police officer's truncheon

Word Origin for billy

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

British Dictionary definitions for billycan (2 of 2)

billy

billycan (ˈbɪlɪˌkæn)

/ (ˈbɪlɪ) /

noun plural -lies or -lycans

a metal can or pot for boiling water, etc, over a campfire

Australian and NZ (as modifier)billy-tea

Australian and NZ informal to make tea

Word Origin for billy

C19: from Scot billypot cooking vessel

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 billycan

billy

"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).