† beteelan.

Etymology: A word without any fixed form written or spoken, of constant occurrence in the East Indian trade in 17–18th cent. It appears to be identified with the Portuguese beatilha ‘linen to make white veils for women,’ Spanish beatilla ‘sort of fine thin linen’; but whether this is = medieval Latin beatilla , diminutive of beata a nun, a religious ‘sister’ (see Du Cange, and compare battalia n. [pie]), or whether it was originally an eastern word, which assumed that form in Portuguese under the influence of popular etymology, is uncertain.