billet
American Heritage Dictionary:
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bil·let1
(bĭl'ĭt) 
n.
v., -let·ed, -let·ing, -lets. v.tr.
To be quartered; lodge.
bil·let2 (bĭl'ĭt)
n.
n.
- Lodging for troops.
- A written order directing that such lodging be provided.
- A position of employment; a job.
- Archaic. A short letter; a note.
v., -let·ed, -let·ing, -lets. v.tr.
- To lodge (soldiers).
- To serve (a person) with a written order to provide lodging for soldiers.
- To assign lodging to.
To be quartered; lodge.
[Middle English, official register, from Old French billette, from bullette, diminutive of bulle, document, from Medieval Latin bulla, document, seal. See bill1.]
bil·let2 (bĭl'ĭt)
n.
- A short, thick piece of wood, especially one used as firewood.
- One of a series of regularly spaced, log-shaped segments used horizontally as ornamentation in the moldings of Norman architecture.
- A small, usually rectangular bar of iron or steel in an intermediate stage of manufacture.
- A small ingot of nonferrous metal.
- The part of a harness strap that passes through a buckle.
- A loop or pocket for securing the end of a buckled harness strap.
[Middle English, from Old French billette, diminutive of bille, log, from Vulgar Latin *bilia, possibly of Celtic origin.]
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billet
Roget's Thesaurus:
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billet
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n. 1. a shelter for troops.
2. a personnel position or assignment that may be filled by one person.
v.to quarter troops.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
1. A common Norman or Romanesque molding formed by a series of circular (but
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2. A steel slab which is placed under a column to distribute the load, as from the column to the supporting masonry.
3. A timber which is sawn on three sides and left rounded on the fourth.
4. A wood block from which smaller pieces of structural lumber can be cut.
Gale Encyclopedia of US History:
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Billeting
Billeting, the quartering of military troops at public expense, was a British practice that infuriated American colonists and fueled calls for revolution. Billeting became a contentious issue, particularly in New York and Philadelphia, as Great Britain sent more and more soldiers to fight the French during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). To offset the cost of maintaining a modern army in North America, the British parliament passed the Mutiny Act of 1765, more commonly known as the Quartering Act. This new act required colonial governments to billet troops in taverns, barns, and uninhabited houses and to furnish them with provisions when barracks were not available. As "a common resort of arbitrary princes," billeting aroused resistance in Charleston in 1764, New York in 1766, and Boston in 1768, largely owing to aversion to higher taxes and to anger over the British military's willingness to enforce the act. This resistance fed on the traditional British opposition to standing armies. The colonies eventually agreed to quarter the British army. Billeting aggravated tensions between American colonists and British soldiers, however, and led directly to the Boston Massacre in 1770. Although Parliament passed the Quartering Act of 1774 to permit billeting within Boston, this new legislation did little to stem the tide of revolution in North America. Billeting not only sparked calls for independence but also conditioned how Americans would view standing armies. As a result of Parliament's attempt to force the American colonies to quarter British troops, Congress prohibited billeting in the Third Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
Bibliography
Maier, Pauline. From Resistance to Revolution. New York: Knopf, 1972.
Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. New York: Knopf, 1992.
Young, Alfred F. The Shoemaker and the Tea Party. Boston: Beacon Press, 1999.
Zobel, Hiller B. The Boston Massacre. New York: Norton, 1970.
—Elbridge Colby
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(DOD) 1. Shelter for troops. 2. To quarter troops. 3. A personnel position or assignment that may be filled by one person.
Word Tutor:
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billeted
IN BRIEF: To give orders to provide lodging for military personnel.
The general billeted several of the town's homes.
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
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categories related to 'billet'
- Functional Household Articles and Appliances - billet: chunky piece of firewood
- Soldiers and Military Life - billet: lodging for soldiers; official order to provide such lodging
See crossword solutions for the clue Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Billet
For other uses, see Billet (disambiguation).
A billet is a term for living quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, it referred to a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier.
Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, although in some armies soldiers with families are permitted to maintain a home off-post. Used for a building, the term is more commonly used in British English; United States standard terms are quarters, barracks, "Single (Soldier) Housing" or "Family Housing".
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British history
Originally, a "billet" (from the French) was a note, commonly used in the 18th and early 19th centuries as a "billet of invitation." A particular use of the word in this sense is to denote an order issued to a soldier entitling him to quarters with a certain person. From this meaning, the word billet came to be loosely used of the quarters thus obtained. Repeated petitions against the practice of billeting, starting in the 16th century, culminated in its outlawing in 1689 as an extension of a section of the Petition of Right 1628.
During wartime, civilians who have been evacuated from a city in danger of attack are billetted in communal shelters or in the homes of individuals. The practice of billetting evacuees was widespread in Britain during World War II, particularly during the Blitz, when children and other non-essential persons in major cities were sent to rural areas for safety.
In European countries since the formation of regular forces the Quartermaster was an occupation and a rank of the individuals responsible for provision of sleeping quarters as well as other provisions for regular time troops.
United States usage
One of the major grievances of the American colonists against the British government which led to the American Revolutionary War was the quartering of soldiers in civilian homes. As a result, the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution provides restrictions on the manner in which the Federal government of the United States may require civilians to provide housing for American soldiers.
Billet can mean a personnel position, assignment, or duty station which may be filled by one person, commonly used by the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Coast Guard. It may also refer in all the armed forces to the individual bunk or bed.
Billet can also refer to the position and weapons of the members of a unit. For example, the billets of a fireteam include a fireteam leader (M16), a rifleman (M16), an automatic rifleman (M249), and a grenadier. (M16 with M203 grenade launcher).
Other usage
In Spain the noble officers of royal tercios were billeted in the homes of the affluent and well-to-do of the cities/towns they were stationed in. This usage is employed as a plot device in the Barber of Seville.
In Canada, the term is widely used in conjunction with housing visiting performers from theatrical or musical tours, such as for a Fringe theatre festival or a choir festival. Students traveling for a band or choir tour may billet with members of the host band or choir.
The expression "billet" is also used for an exchange student.
Amateur sport
In North America, billet families offer room and board to junior ice hockey players (or Under-20 athletes from other sports, such as soccer). who leave home to join elite teams in other towns. Coaches are often involved with matching a player to a billet family. The objective of a billet family is to provide a "home away from home" for young players during the season. However, exaggerated fears over child safety in amateur sports in Canada drastically curtailed billeting practice. Many places do not billet,[1] while other clubs through their provincial sports' bodies have instituted mandatory criminal record checks for all involved in amateur sports, including coaches, volunteers and anyone over eighteen years of age from the host family.[2][3]
Notes
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (September 2009) |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.- Detailed history of the practice as of the early 1900s
References
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Billet. |
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Billeting. |
- ^ "Edmonton Keyano Swim Club : Event". Eksc.com. 2011-10-01. http://www.eksc.com/EventShow.jsp?id=166928&team=cseksc. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ "Quinte Ballet School of Canada". Quinteballetschool.com. http://www.quinteballetschool.com/ptp_billet_system.cfm. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ "Alberta Coaches Council Policies - Coaches". Swimalberta.ca. http://www.swimalberta.ca/coaches/alberta-coaches-council-policies.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Billet
Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - indkvartering, kvarter
v. tr. - indkvartere, huse
v. intr. - logere
2.
n. - brændestykke
Nederlands (Dutch)
briefje, betrekking, kwartier, inkwartieringsbevel, inkwartieren, een baan geven, uiteinde van een riem
Français (French)
1.
n. - (Mil) billet de logement, cantonnement (chez l'habitant), emploi (arch)
v. tr. - loger, cantonner chez qn
v. intr. - loger (chez)
2.
n. - bûche, rondin, (Archit) billette
Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Quartier, Stellung
v. - einquartieren, quartieren
2.
n. - Holzscheit, Spannkeil
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (διαταγή με την οποία επιβάλλεται) στρατωνισμός ή καταυλισμός, θέση, δουλειά, κούτσουρο, καυσόξυλο
v. - στρατωνίζω, παρέχω κατάλυμα σε στρατιωτική μονάδα, επιτάσσω οίκημα, καταλύω, διαμένω
Italiano (Italian)
accantonare
Português (Portuguese)
n. - alojamento (m) para soldados, ordem (f) escrita para alojar soldados, pedaço (m) de madeira
v. - alojar (soldados)
Русский (Russian)
расквартировывать
Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - billete, esquela, acantonamiento, alojamiento
v. tr. - acantonar, alojar
v. intr. - acantonarse, alojarse
2.
n. - puesto, colocación , destino
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - inkvartering, jobb, plats
v. - inkvartera
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 向军人提供住宿处的书面命令, 给海员指定的睡铺, 士兵住宿处, 职位, 地位, 工作, 分配住宿地, 委派, 任命, 把提供住宿处的命令送交, 投宿, 驻扎
2. 作燃料用的小木条, 木棍, 木棒, 钢坯
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 作燃料用的小木條, 木棍, 木棒, 鋼坯
2.
n. - 向軍人提供住宿處的書面命令, 給海員指定的睡鋪, 士兵住宿處, 職位, 地位, 工作
v. tr. - 分配住宿地, 委派, 任命, 把提供住宿處的命令送交
v. intr. - 投宿, 駐紮
한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 숙소, 직업, 짧은 글
v. tr. - 숙소를 할당하다, 숙소를 지정하다
v. intr. - 숙소가 지정되다
2.
n. - 장작, 강철 조각, 가죽 끈
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 軍人宿舎, 仕事, 宿舎
v. - 宿泊させる
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) مسكن جنود, وظيفه, قضيب حديد (فعل) آوى, أسكن جنود
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מגורי-חייל, ג'וב, משרה, הוראה בכתב לתת מגורים לחייל
v. tr. - שיכן חייל
v. intr. - השיג מקום-מגורים, התגורר ב-
n. - גזר-עץ עבה לבערה, מוט מתכת קטן
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