"Bess" meaning in All languages combined

See Bess on Wiktionary

Proper name [English]

IPA: /bɛs/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Bess.wav
enPR: bĕs Rhymes: -ɛs Head templates: {{en-proper noun}} Bess
  1. A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth.
    Sense id: en-Bess-en-name-8s3LiQ2t Categories (other): English diminutives of female given names, English female given names, English given names, English calculator words, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English calculator words: 63 37 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 80 20 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 80 20 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 87 13
  2. (gay slang) A term applied to a fellow gay man, usually preceding an admonition. Tags: slang
    Sense id: en-Bess-en-name-3GQmRQch Categories (other): English terms with collocations Topics: LGBT
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: Bessbrook Related terms: Bessie, Bessy
{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "Bessbrook"
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Bess",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "Bessie"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "Bessy"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English diminutives of female given names",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English female given names",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English given names",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "63 37",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English calculator words",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "80 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "80 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              26,
              30
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene vi]:",
          "text": "King Edward. Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              66,
              70
            ],
            [
              196,
              200
            ],
            [
              341,
              345
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1981, William Wharton, Dad, Knopf, →ISBN, page 293:",
          "text": "\"Jack, couldn't you call me Bette again? You know how much I hate Bess. I don't know what's happened; you've been calling me Bette since we came to California and now, suddenly, you're calling me Bess.\"\nThere's a long silence. Dad's still up on his knees; I'm driving along Sepulveda Boulevard toward Olympic.\n\"Well, Bette, I married you as Bess and I've always liked that name. It's a name you don't hear very often; it's a strong name like you. Every time I call you Bette I'm afraid somebody else might answer.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth."
      ],
      "id": "en-Bess-en-name-8s3LiQ2t",
      "links": [
        [
          "diminutive",
          "diminutive"
        ],
        [
          "given name",
          "given name"
        ],
        [
          "Elizabeth",
          "Elizabeth#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with collocations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              13,
              17
            ]
          ],
          "text": "listen here, Bess",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A term applied to a fellow gay man, usually preceding an admonition."
      ],
      "id": "en-Bess-en-name-3GQmRQch",
      "links": [
        [
          "gay",
          "gay"
        ],
        [
          "slang",
          "slang"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(gay slang) A term applied to a fellow gay man, usually preceding an admonition."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "LGBT"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "bĕs"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bɛs/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Bess.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f1/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Bess.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Bess.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f1/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Bess.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Bess.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛs"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Bess"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English calculator words",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛs",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛs/1 syllable"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Bessbrook"
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Bess",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "Bessie"
    },
    {
      "word": "Bessy"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English diminutives of female given names",
        "English female given names",
        "English given names",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              26,
              30
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene vi]:",
          "text": "King Edward. Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              66,
              70
            ],
            [
              196,
              200
            ],
            [
              341,
              345
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1981, William Wharton, Dad, Knopf, →ISBN, page 293:",
          "text": "\"Jack, couldn't you call me Bette again? You know how much I hate Bess. I don't know what's happened; you've been calling me Bette since we came to California and now, suddenly, you're calling me Bess.\"\nThere's a long silence. Dad's still up on his knees; I'm driving along Sepulveda Boulevard toward Olympic.\n\"Well, Bette, I married you as Bess and I've always liked that name. It's a name you don't hear very often; it's a strong name like you. Every time I call you Bette I'm afraid somebody else might answer.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "diminutive",
          "diminutive"
        ],
        [
          "given name",
          "given name"
        ],
        [
          "Elizabeth",
          "Elizabeth#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English gay slang",
        "English terms with collocations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              13,
              17
            ]
          ],
          "text": "listen here, Bess",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A term applied to a fellow gay man, usually preceding an admonition."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "gay",
          "gay"
        ],
        [
          "slang",
          "slang"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(gay slang) A term applied to a fellow gay man, usually preceding an admonition."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "LGBT"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "bĕs"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bɛs/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Bess.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f1/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Bess.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Bess.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f1/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Bess.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Bess.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛs"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Bess"
}

Download raw JSONL data for Bess meaning in All languages combined (2.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (074e7de and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.