Dutch billy en · NOUN
Etymology
Apparently a transferred use of Dutch Billy, a nickname for William III (applied to the houses on account of their Dutch appearance).
Meanings
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A kind of terraced house with distinctive curved gables, formerly common in Dublin and other Irish towns.
With the adoption of brick earlier in the century, "Dutch billies" became the common house-type, with gable-fronted facades, cruciform roof ridges, shallow windows without sashes, tight stairwells, small halls and floor-to-ceiling panelling, more elaborate houses displaying curved or stepped front gables.
2014, David Dickson, Dublin: The Making of a Capital City, Harvard University Press, page 86:They were ready to be superseded on their sites at the end of the seventeeth century by what we call the "Dutch Billy" houses.
1889, Thomas Drew, “Unhealthiness of Dublin Barracks”, in The Builder, volume 56, number 2398, page 54:The term Dutch Billy refers to gable-fronted houses built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries – not just in Dublin, but also Cork, Drogheda, Limerick and Waterford – by waves of Huguenot and Quaker immigrants as well as tradesmen from Britain.
2011, Frank McDonald, “Dutch Billy 18th century houses at risk”, in The Irish Times:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch billies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |