second letter of the Latin alphabet, corresponding to Greek
beta
, Phoenician
beth
, literally "house." It "has nothing of that variety of pronunciation shown by most English letters" [Century Dictionary]. The Germanic "b" is said to represent a "bh" sound in Proto-Indo-European, which continued as "bh" in Sanskrit, became "ph" in Greek (
brother
/Greek
phrater
;
bear
(v.)/Greek
pherein
) and "f" in Latin (
frater
,
ferre
).
Often indicating "second in order."
B-movie
is by 1939, usually said to be so called from being the second, or supporting, film in a double feature. Some film industry sources say it was so called for being the second of the two films major studios generally made in a year, and the one cast with less headline talent and released with less promotion. And early usage varies with
grade-B movie
, suggesting a perceived association with quality.
B-side
of a gramophone single is by 1962 (
flip-side
is by 1949).
B-girl
, abbreviation of
bar girl
, U.S. slang for a woman paid to encourage customers at a bar to buy her drinks, is by 1936.