Bessie
August 15, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Bessy“, a diminutive of “Elizabeth“, meaning “oath of God”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bess, Bessy, Betje, Bette, Betsy, Bettie, Bettina, Betty, Bettye, Buffy, Let, Lettie, Letty, Pet, Pettie, Tess, Tessie, Tessy, Tetty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bessie (sometimes called “Bess“), Laura’s sister, the “Bright-Eyes” Ted tells his rag-bag story to, in “In a Rag-Bag”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Bessie Lee (Leaven, after her marriage), the kind-hearted though quick-tempered nursemaid who looks after Jane and her cousins, the Reeds, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Bessie Head (1937-1986), South African author.
Tagged: 1840s, 1880s, 1930s, B, English
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 
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