biddy

biddy
biddy1
/bid"ee/, n., pl. biddies. Chiefly New England, South Midland, and Southern U.S.
1. a chicken.
2. a newly hatched chick.
[1595-1605; cf. Brit. dial. biddy ( < ?) with same sense, usually as a call to chickens]
biddy2
/bid"ee/, n., pl. biddies.
1. a fussbudget, esp. a fussy old woman.
2. a female domestic servant, esp. a cleaning woman.
[1700-10; special use of Biddy, by-form of BRIDGET]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Biddy — is a given name, and may refer to:* Biddy Anderson (1874 1926), South African cricketer * Biddy Baxter (21st century), English television producer * Biddy Early (1798 1874), Irish traditional healer * Biddy Mason (1818 1891), African American… …   Wikipedia

  • Biddy — f Irish and English: pet form of BRIDE (SEE Bride) or BRIDGET (SEE Bridget). It was formerly quite common, but is now seldom used outside Ireland, partly perhaps because the informal expression ‘an old biddy’ in English has come to denote a… …   First names dictionary

  • biddy — old woman, 1785; meaning Irish maid servant (1861) is Amer.Eng.; both from Biddy, pet form of common Irish proper name BRIDGET (Cf. Bridget) …   Etymology dictionary

  • biddy — [bid′ē] n. pl. biddies [< ?] 1. a chicken or chick; esp., a hen 2. Informal a woman; esp., an elderly woman (usually old biddy) regarded contemptuously as annoying, gossipy, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Biddy — Bid dy, n. [Etymology uncertain.] A name used in calling a hen or chicken. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Biddy — Bid dy, n. [A familiar form of Bridget.] An Irish serving woman or girl. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • biddy — ► NOUN (pl. biddies) informal ▪ a woman, especially an old one. ORIGIN originally denoting a chicken: of unknown origin …   English terms dictionary

  • biddy —    One might in modern English hear a reference to a ‘biddy’, especially an ‘old biddy’, meaning a woman, but as a vocative the word is almost never used. What is sometimes heard, especially in Ireland, is ‘Biddy’ being used as a pet name for a… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • biddy — A girl who works at a fast food restauraunt. (Originally girls who worked at Burger King.) Also see biddy for old woman. Hey, John, you shoulda seen the biddy workin cash last night at McDs …   Dictionary of american slang

  • biddy — A girl who works at a fast food restauraunt. (Originally girls who worked at Burger King.) Also see biddy for old woman. Hey, John, you shoulda seen the biddy workin cash last night at McDs …   Dictionary of american slang

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