name
Meaning 1
A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
betty
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
/ˈbɛti/
-
Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
rhymes with -ɛti
-
Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
CMU ARPABET: B EH1 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A short bar used by thieves to wrench doors open; a jimmy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A picklock, skeleton key; a tool for opening locks.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
A man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman; (originally) an effeminate or gay man.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, derogatory
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A pear-shaped bottle covered with straw, in which olive oil is sometimes brought from Italy; a Florence flask.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
A baked dessert made with alternating layers of sweetened fruit and buttered bread crumbs.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
An attractive woman; a babe.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
Qualifier: slightly pejorative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
A girl who hangs out with skateboarders or surfers.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 9
To pick a lock, to open with a betty.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 10
To be overly attentive to someone or something.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Betty (nickname for “Elizabeth”). In thieves’ cant a tool for wrenching locked doors is also called a Bess (from “Elizabeth”) or a Jenny. The “attractive woman” sense may relate to the character Betty Rubble in the cartoon The Flintstones.
Across languages
Translations
5 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Catalan: Bet — female name
- Latvian: Betija — female name
- Māori: Peti — female name
- Norman: Betté — female name
- Polish: Becia — female name
Real reading context