brown-bill
English
Etymology
From brown + bill; see bill (“polearm”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɹaʊnbɪl/
Noun
brown-bill (plural brown-bills)
- (historical) A type of halberd used by medieval foot-soldiers and constables, painted brown to prevent rust.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.