A.Word.A.Day --billet

A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact

Home

Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

billet

PRONUNCIATION:

(BIL-it)

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.:
1. To lodge or to be quartered.
noun:
2. A civilian place (as a private home) where soldiers are lodged temporarily.
3. An official order directing someone to provide lodging for soldiers.
4. A short letter or a note.
5. A job appointment.
6. A chunk of wood, suitable for fuel.
7. A metal bar or ingot.

ETYMOLOGY:

For 1-5: From Anglo-Norman billette, diminutive of bille (bill), from Latin bulla (seal, sealed document), from bubble (amulet). Earliest documented use: around 1440. Note: The letter or note sense of the word billet is apparent in the French term for a love letter: billet-doux (literally, sweet note).
For 6-7: From Old French billette/billot, diminutives of bille (tree trunk), from Latin billa/billus (branch, trunk). Earliest documented use: around 1440.

USAGE:

"We were billeted at the Plaza del Norte Hotel."
Millie and Karla Reyes; Land of Bagnet; The Philippine Star (Manila); Aug 4, 2011.

"Highlighting brisk steel demand, the price of steel billet in northern China rose to as high as 4,520 yuan per tonne."
Iron Ore-Price for Indian Cargoes Rises; Reuters News; Aug 1, 2011.

See more usage examples of billet in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

There is more to life than increasing its speed. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise