Biddy

Biddy
Recorded as Bedie, Beddie, Beddie, Beddy, Bidie, Biddie, and Biddy, this is almost certainly a surname of Scottish origins. According to the Dictionary of Scottish Surnames compiled by the late Professor Black of the New York Public Library, it is believed to be a dialectal transposition of the medieval female name Beatrice, and as a surname generally recorded as Beattie, Beatty and Beaty. The spellings where 'd' or 'dd' have replaced 't' or 'tt' originated in Eastern Scotland and particularly Perthshire, in the late medieval period. Given that over the centuries spelling has been at best indifferent and local accents very thick, it is hardly surprising that the vast majority of surnames have developed variant spellings, some now much more popular than the original form, where that survives at all. In this case the first known recording is believed to be that of Gilbert Beatrice of Roxburgh in 1283, and in the later forms that of Nicoll Beddy in the registers of Balquharne parish in Perthshire in 1580. Other recordings taken at random include in 1616 that of David Bedie of Toux in the parish of Fetteresso, Thomas Biedie of Edinburgh in 1683, and Surgeon-General George Biddie (1832 - 1914) of Deskford, Aberdeenshire.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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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 — 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.… …   Universalium

  • 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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