billet 1
— billeter , n.
/bil"it/ , n. , v. , billeted, billeting .
n.
1. lodging for a soldier, student, etc., as in a private home or nonmilitary public building.
2. Mil. an official order, written or verbal, directing the person to whom it is addressed to provide such lodging.
3. a place assigned, as a bunk, berth, or the like, to a member of a ship's crew.
4. job; position; appointment.
5. Archaic. a written note, short letter, or the like.
v.t.
6. Mil. to direct (a soldier) by ticket, note, or verbal order, where to lodge.
7. to provide lodging for; quarter: We arranged with the townspeople to billet the students.
v.i.
8. to obtain lodging; stay: They billeted in youth hostels.
[ 1375-1425; late ME bylet, billett official register billette, OF bullette, equiv. to bulle BILL 1 + -ette -ETTE ]
billet 2
/bil"it/ , n.
1. a small chunk of wood; a short section of a log, esp. one cut for fuel.
2. Metalworking. a comparatively narrow, generally square, bar of steel, esp. one rolled or forged from an ingot; a narrow bloom.
3. an iron or steel slab upon concrete, serving as a footing to a column.
4. Archit. any of a series of closely spaced cylindrical objects, often in several rows, used as ornaments in a hollow molding or cornice.
5. a strap that passes through a buckle, as to connect the ends of a girth.
6. a pocket or loop for securing the end of a strap that has been buckled.
7. thumbpiece.
8. Heraldry. a small, rectangular figure with the longer sides generally vertical, said to represent a block of wood.
[ 1400-50; late ME bylet, bel ( l ) et billette, equiv. to bille log, tree trunk ( bilia tree trunk; cf. OIr bile landmark tree) + -ette -ETTE ]