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Webster 1913 Edition


Billet

Bil′let

,
Noun.
[F.
billet
, dim. of an OF.
bille
bill. See
Bill
a writing.]
1.
A small paper; a note; a short letter.
“I got your melancholy billet.”
Sterne.
2.
A ticket from a public officer directing soldiers at what house to lodge;
as, a
billet
of residence
.
3.
Quarters or place to which one is assigned, as by a billet or ticket; berth; position. Also used fig.
[Colloq.]
The men who cling to easy
billets
ashore.
Harper’s Mag.

Bil′let

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Billeted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Billeting
.]
[From
Billet
a ticket.]
(Mil.)
To direct, by a ticket or note, where to lodge. Hence: To quarter, or place in lodgings, as soldiers in private houses.
Billeted
in so antiquated a mansion.
W. Irving.

Bil′let

,
Noun.
[F.
billette
,
bille
, log; of unknown origin; a different word from
bille
ball. Cf.
Billiards
,
Billot
.]
1.
A small stick of wood, as for firewood.
They shall beat out my brains with
billets
.
Shakespeare
2.
(Metal.)
A short bar of metal, as of gold or iron.
3.
(Arch.)
An ornament in Norman work, resembling a billet of wood either square or round.
4.
(Saddlery)
(a)
A strap which enters a buckle.
(b)
A loop which receives the end of a buckled strap.
Knight.
5.
(Her.)
A bearing in the form of an oblong rectangle.

Webster 1828 Edition


Billet

BILL'ET

,
Noun.
[dim. of bill;]
A small paper or note in writing, used for various purposes; sometimes it is a short letter, addressed to some person; sometimes a ticket directing soldiers at what house to lodge.
In heraldry, billet is a bearing in the form of a long square.

Definition 2024


Billet

Billet

See also: billet

German

Obsolete spelling of Billett

Noun

Billet n (genitive Billets or Billetes, plural Billets or Billete)

  1. ticket

Synonyms

billet

billet

See also: Billet

English

Noun

billet (plural billets)

  1. A short informal letter.
  2. A written order to quarter soldiers.
Translations

Etymology 2

Middle French billette (schedule), from bullette, diminutive form of bulle (document), from Medieval Latin bulla, hence cognate with etymology 1 above.

Noun

billet (plural billets)

  1. A place where a soldier is assigned to lodge.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 19, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.
    • 1997, Chris Horrocks, Introducing Foucault, page 9 (Totem Books, Icon Books; ISBN 1840460865)
      17 June 1940: Prime Minister Pétain requests armistice. Germans use the Foucaults’ holiday home as officers’ billet. Foucault steals firewood for school from collaborationist militia. Foucault does well at school, but messes up his summer exams in 1940.
  2. An allocated space or berth in a boat or ship.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 10, in The Celebrity:
      The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.
  3. (figuratively) berth; position
    • Pall Mall Magazine
      His shafts of satire fly straight to their billet, and there they rankle.

Verb

billet (third-person singular simple present billets, present participle billeting or billetting, simple past and past participle billeted or billetted)

  1. (transitive, of a householder etc.) To lodge soldiers, or guests, usually by order.
  2. (intransitive, of a soldier) To lodge, or be quartered, in a private house.
  3. (transitive) To direct, by a ticket or note, where to lodge.
Translations

Etymology 3

Old French billette, from bille (log, tree trunk), from Vulgar Latin *bilia, probably of Gaulish origin (compare Old Irish bile (tree)).

Noun

billet (plural billets)

  1. (metallurgy) A semi-finished length of metal.
  2. A short piece of wood, especially one used as firewood.
    • William Shakespeare
      They shall beat out my brains with billets.
  3. (heraldry) A rectangle used as a charge on an escutcheon.
  4. (architecture) An ornament in Norman work, resembling a billet of wood, either square or round.
  5. (saddlery) A strap that enters a buckle.
  6. A loop that receives the end of a buckled strap.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
Translations

Danish

Etymology

From French billet.

Noun

billet c (singular definite billetten, plural indefinite billetter)

  1. ticket (admission to entertainment, pass for transportation)

Inflection


French

Etymology

From Old French billette, from Latin bulla. See French boulette.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bi.jɛ/

Noun

billet m (plural billets)

  1. ticket
  2. note, banknote

Related terms

Descendants