billy
/ˈbɪli/noun
billy is spelled B-I-L-L-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Billy, the name). As a noun, billy means “A fellow, companion, comrade, mate; partner, brother” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of billy is billies.
How many letters and syllables are in billy?
| Letters | 5: B-I-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 21 times per million words; the 4,076th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is billy?
Billy appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Billy, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce billy?
- /ˈbɪli/
Billy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-billy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of billy
- billies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does billy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A fellow, companion, comrade, mate; partner, brother.
- 2
A good friend.
- 3
A billy goat.
- 4
UKobsoleteslangA silk handkerchief.
- 5
A highwayman's club, billy club.
- 6
A slubbing or roving machine.
- 7
AustraliaA tin with a swing handle used to boil tea over an open fire; a billycan; a billypot.
Let's get the billy and cook some beans.
- 8
AustraliaslangA bong for smoking marijuana.
- 9
slangA condom.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does billy come from?
Of obscure origin. Perhaps a variant of bully (“companion, mate, comrade”). Compare Scots billie (“a comrade; companion”). Compare also Middle Low German billig (“equitable, reasonable, lawful, fitting, according to natural law, just”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).