Bessy
August 5, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Bessie“, a diminutive of “Elizabeth“, meaning “oath of God”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bess, Bessie, Betje, Bette, Betsy, Bettie, Bettina, Betty, Bettye, Buffy, Let, Lettie, Letty, Pet, Pettie, Tess, Tessie, Tessy, Tetty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bessy is the name Mr. Sedley uses for his wife after her death (although earlier she is called “Mary“), in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 
[…] Mary Sedley is Amelia Sedley’s mother (although later her husband refers to her as “Bessy“) in Vanity […]
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[…] spelled “Bessy“, a diminutive of “Elizabeth“, meaning “oath of […]
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[…] version of “Bessie” / “Bessy“, a diminutive of […]
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