Betties

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Informal term referring to attractive young women often admired in a social context ; also can denote a group of persons named Betty ; occasionally used as a playful nickname among friends
2. A casual reference to appealing female individuals commonly used in friendly or youthful settings ; a plural form for people bearing the given name Betty ; sometimes employed in cultural or media contexts to identify a specific group
3. Colloquial name for several women or girls regarded as charming or stylish ; a way to address or describe multiple persons named Betty ; used in some communities to signify a set of familiar or iconic female figures

Etymology: Betty began as a nickname for Elizabeth, and its link to the plural "betties" runs through a set of thieves' tools. In thieves' cant, a device for wrenching open locked doors was called a "Bess" or a "Jenny," both also drawn from Elizabeth, and "betty" came to name this same kind of implement. The plural "betties" is therefore the form of "betty" used when more than one is meant, and it inherits that criminal sense alongside the name. The slang sense of attractive young women is less certain. It may have been influenced by Betty Rubble, the character in the cartoon The Flintstones, though this connection is not firmly established. The plural also carries the everyday meaning of a group of people named Betty, and it is sometimes used as a playful term of address among friends.

Synonyms: girls, women, ladies, females, gals