billet1
n.
a civilian house where soldiers are lodged temporarily.
v.
(billets, billeting, billeted)
lodge (soldiers) in a civilian house.
Etymology
ME (orig. denoting a short written document, later a written order requiring a householder to lodge the bearer): from Anglo-Norman Fr. billette, dimin. of bille (see bill1).
billet2
n.
- a thick piece of wood.
▸a small bar of metal for further processing.
- Architecture each of a series of short cylindrical pieces inserted at intervals in Norman decorative mouldings.
- Heraldry a rectangle placed vertically as a charge.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. billette and billot, diminutives of bille ‘tree trunk’, from med. L. billa, billus ‘branch, trunk’, prob. of Celtic origin.