betty Meaning, Definition & Usage

Bet"ty noun
Definitions
  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.
    The powerful betty, or the artful picklock. Arbuthnot.
  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.
  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.

Webster 1913