Brown-bill
//ˈbɹaʊnbɪl// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of halberd used by medieval foot-soldiers and constables, painted brown to prevent rust. historical
"Let the Kanne of ſtrong ale [be] your conſtable, vvith the toaſte his brovvne bill, and ſugar and nutmegs his vvatchmen ſtand in a readineſſe, to entertaine mee euerie time I come by your lodging."
Example
More examples"Let the Kanne of ſtrong ale [be] your conſtable, vvith the toaſte his brovvne bill, and ſugar and nutmegs his vvatchmen ſtand in a readineſſe, to entertaine mee euerie time I come by your lodging."
Etymology
From brown + bill; see bill (“polearm”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.