betta

Pluralbettas

1. 1
   nouncountable

   Any fish of the genus Betta, especially the Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens).

   When the researcher held a mirror up to the tank, the betta flared its fins at its own reflection.

   She bought a bright blue betta fish and set up a small filtered tank for it on her desk.

   Note

   An everyday name taken straight from science: the genus Betta, lowercased and used as an ordinary noun, so one fish is a betta and several are bettas. It often appears as betta fish, and for the common species it is interchangeable with Siamese fighting fish. The capital belongs to the genus in scientific writing; the fish in the tank is plain lowercase.

2. 2
   adjectivepronunciation spelling

   Pronunciation spelling of better, the comparative of good.

   “Trust me, the sequel is betta than the first movie,” she said.

   “Homemade sauce is always betta,” he insisted, stirring the pot.

   Note

   A spelling that puts the speaker's accent on the page, writing the ending as it sounds, so it belongs to dialogue rather than ordinary prose. The grammar is that of better: it compares with than (betta dan a beautiful face), and Robert Louis Stevenson's The Ebb-Tide (1894) has the doubled mo' betta. Outside quoted speech, write better.

3. 3
   adverbslangpronunciation spelling

   Pronunciation spelling of better, as in “had better”.

   “You betta call me the minute you land,” his mother warned.

   “He betta have my money by Friday,” she said.

   Note

   This stands for had better with the had dropped: you betta leave them alone, she betta be ready. A bare verb follows, and the line carries a warning or a firm piece of advice rather than a comparison. It is slang, at home in casual speech and fictional dialogue; formal writing keeps had better.

4. 4
   adverbpronunciation spelling

   Pronunciation spelling of better, the comparative of well.

   “You know this neighborhood betta than I do,” he admitted.

   “Who betta to ask than your own grandmother?” she said.

   Note

   As an adverb it says how something is done and comes after the verb or its object: you know the game betta than me. It also heads the rhetorical question who betta to ask, meaning that nobody would be more fitting. The spelling belongs where the adjective spelling does; only its job in the sentence changes.

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