# betty

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɛti/ · frequency rank #8,011

## Definitions
1. A short bar used by thieves to wrench doors open; a jimmy.
2. A picklock, skeleton key; a tool for opening locks.
3. A man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman; (originally) an effeminate or gay man.
4. A pear-shaped bottle covered with straw, in which olive oil is sometimes brought from Italy; a Florence flask.
5. A baked dessert made with alternating layers of sweetened fruit and buttered bread crumbs.
6. An attractive woman; a babe.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **bey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-bey)
- **butt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-butt)
- **bevy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-bevy)
- **brett** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-brett)
- **booty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-booty)
- **butts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-butts)
- **butte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-butte)
- **busty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-busty)
- **bitty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/betty-vs-bitty)
- **bet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-betty)
- **best** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/best-vs-betty)
- **beat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beat-vs-betty)
- **belt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belt-vs-betty)
- **beta** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beta-vs-betty)
- **bent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bent-vs-betty)
- **beth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beth-vs-betty)
- **bets** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bets-vs-betty)
- **Bert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bert-vs-betty)
- **beet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beet-vs-betty)
- **Beit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beit-vs-betty)

## Common misspellings (6)
`bbetty`, `bettyy`, `bety`, `betyt`, `btety`, `ebtty`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/betty