• Davy

    Full definition of davy

    Noun

    davy

    (plural davys)
    1. An affidavit, a legally binding statement or oathRather than testify in open court, each sailor posted a davy before sailing off.
      • 1883, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, John Wilson and Son, 1895, page 66"You and me should get on well, Hawkins, for I'll take my davy I should be rated ship's boy."
      • 1999, Treasure Island - The Script by David Calcutt, Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd, 1999, page 84my affy-davy He means affidavit, which is a written statement confirmed by an oath, and legally binding.
    2. A davy lamp, more often capitalized as Davy lamp, a type of safety lampThe miner knew the old davy was safer than any open flame, but far riskier than a modern flashlight.
      • 1996, English-English-Telugu Dictionary by Junathula Venkata Subrahmanyam, Sura Books, 1996, page 113"davy-lamp n: coal-miner's safety daw"
      • 2009, Dictionary of Energy: Expanded Edition edited by Cutler J. Cleveland, Christopher G. Morris, Elsevier, 2009, page 124He also developed the innovative davy lamp for use in coal mines.
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