biddy [E17th] Old biddy suggests an interfering or annoying elderly woman, but a biddy was originally ‘a chicken’ and extended to mean a woman in the late 18th century. The origin is unknown. This use was probably influenced by the use of Biddy in the US for an Irish maidservant, which arose from the pet form of Bridget, and extended as a general derogatory word for a ‘woman’ in slang use.