crowbill

From crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”) +‎ bill (“beak of a bird”). Sense 1 (“kind of forceps”) is probably from its appearance, while sense 2 (“type of poleaxe”) is a calque of French bec de corbin (literally “crow or raven's beak”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹəʊbɪl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹoʊˌbɪl/
• Hyphenation: crow‧bill

crowbill (plural crowbills)

2. (surgery) A kind of forceps for extracting bullets, etc., from wounds.

   Synonym: crow's bill

4. (weaponry, historical) Synonym of bec de corbin (“poleaxe with a modified hammerhead and a spike mounted on the top of the pole”).

• crow-bill

• (surgery): forceps
• (weaponry): poleaxe

• billhook
• crowbar

• bec de corbin on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “crow-bill, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
• “crow-bill, n.”, in Collins English Dictionary.