- bettee
- Betty Bet"ty, n.
1. [Supposed to be a cant word, from Betty, for Elizabeth, as
such an instrument is also called Bess (i. e., Elizabeth)
in the Canting Dictionary of 1725, and Jenny (i. e.,
Jane).] A short bar used by thieves to wrench doors open.
[Written also {bettee}.]
[1913 Webster]
The powerful betty, or the artful picklock. --Arbuthnot. [1913 Webster]
2. [Betty, nickname for Elizabeth.] A name of contempt given to a man who interferes with the duties of women in a household, or who occupies himself with womanish matters. [1913 Webster]
3. A pear-shaped bottle covered round with straw, in which olive oil is sometimes brought from Italy; -- called by chemists a {Florence flask}. [U. S.] --Bartlett. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
