billy
billy Lexical Profile
billy Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A heavy short wooden or metal club, baton, or truncheon, especially one carried by a police officer.
"The night watchman carried a flashlight and a wooden billy on his belt during his rounds."
Australian A lightweight metal pot or tin can with a wire handle, used in Australia and New Zealand for boiling water or cooking over an open campfire.
"The hikers gathered dry eucalyptus twigs to boil the billy for afternoon tea."
An uncastrated adult male goat (Capra hircus), typically distinguished by a prominent beard, backward-curving horns, and a strong musky odor.
"The old billy stood atop the rocky ledge overlooking the rest of the herd."
• Rhymes for billy
Word Origin & Etymology
The tool and animal senses derive from the masculine pet name Billy (a diminutive of William), historically applied colloquially to familiar everyday objects and male animals; the Australian cooking pot sense is shortened from 'billycan', likely influenced by the Wiradjuri Aboriginal word 'bila' meaning river or water.