biddy

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪdi/
• Rhymes: -ɪdi

Derived from Biddy, diminutive form of Bridget. It became a generic name for an Irish maid (US), and then for an old woman.

biddy (plural biddies)

1. (derogatory) A woman, especially an old woman; especially one regarded as fussy or mean or a gossipy busybody.
2. (uncommon) An attractive girl.
3. (archaic, colloquial) An Irish maidservant.
4. (by extension, derogatory) An Irishwoman.
5. A name used in calling a hen or chicken, often as "biddy-biddy-biddy".
   • c. 1601–1602, Shakespeare, William, Twelfth Night, act 3, scene 4, line 115:

     Ay, biddy, come with me.

   • 1915, Burgess, Thornton W., chapter XI, in The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company:

     "Well, we'll see about it by and by," said Farmer Brown's boy. "There's the breakfast bell, and I haven't fed the biddies yet."

biddy (plural biddies)

1. (US) Alternative spelling of bittie