brown-bill

/ˈbɹaʊnbɪl/

noun

A type of halberd used by medieval foot-soldiers and constables, painted brown to prevent rust.

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Meanings

nounbrown-bill (plural brown-bills)

plural brown-bills

  1. historicalA type of halberd used by medieval foot-soldiers and constables, painted brown to prevent rust.

    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.

    1599, [Thomas] Nashe, “[The Epistle Dedicatorie]”, in Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    The tramp of horses was now heard, and the Lady Rowena appeared, surrounded by several riders, and a much stronger party of footmen, who joyfully shook their pikes and clashed their brown-bills for joy of her freedom.

    1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC

Origin

From brown + bill; see bill (“polearm”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

brown-bill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brown-bill

MLA

“brown-bill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brown-bill. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brown-bill,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brown-bill.

Source: brown-bill on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.