*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bill

From Middle English bille, from Anglo-Norman bille, from Old French bulle, from Medieval Latin bulla (“seal, sealed document”). Doublet of bull (“papal bull; bubble”) and bulla.

6 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 6 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To advertise by a bill or public notice. · To charge; to send a bill to.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English bille, from Anglo-Norman bille, from Old French bulle, from Medieval Latin bulla (“seal, sealed document”). Doublet of bull (“papal bull; bubble”) and bulla.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionbilleenm
  • Derivation mentionbullefro
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A written list or inventory. (Now obsolete except in specific senses or set phrases; bill of lading, bill of goods, etc.) · A document, originally sealed; a formal statement or official memorandum. (Now obsolete except with certain qualifying words; bill of health, bill of sale etc.) · A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law. · A declaration made in writing, stating some wrong the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a fault committed by some person against a law.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English bille, from Anglo-Norman bille, from Old French bulle, from Medieval Latin bulla (“seal, sealed document”). Doublet of bull (“papal bull; bubble”) and bulla.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionbilleenm
  • Derivation mentionbullefro

This page abbreviates 9 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal. · A beaklike projection, especially a promontory. · Of a cap or hat: the brim or peak, serving as a shade to keep sun off the face and out of the eyes.

verb

to peck · to stroke bill against bill, with reference to doves; to caress in fondness

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English bill, bil, bille, bile, from Old English bile (“beak (of a bird); trunk (of an elephant)”), of unknown origin. Perhaps from a special use of Old English bil, bill (“hook; sword”) (see below).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionbillenm
  • Inherited-form mentionbileang · beak (of a bird); trunk (of an elephant)
  • Cognate mentionbilang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To dig, chop, etc., with a bill.

noun

Any of various bladed or pointed hand weapons, originally designating an Anglo-Saxon sword, and later a weapon of infantry, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, commonly consisting of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, with a short pike at the back and another at the top, attached to the end of a long staff. · A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle, used in pruning, etc.; a billhook. · Somebody armed with a bill; a billman. · A pickaxe or mattock.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English bill, bille, bil, from Old English bil, bill (“a hooked point; curved weapon; two-edged sword”), from Proto-Germanic *bilją (“axe; sword; blade”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyH- (“to strike; beat”). Cognate with West Frisian bile (“axe”), Dutch bijl (“axe”), German Bille (“axe”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionbillenm
  • Inherited-form mentionbilang
  • Inherited-form mention*biljągem-pro
  • Derivation mention*bʰeyH-ine-pro · to strike; beat
  • Cognate mentionbilefy · axe
  • Cognate mentionbijlnl · axe
  • Cognate mentionBillede · axe

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

The bell, or boom, of the bittern.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Onomatopoeic.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗
verb

To roll up a marijuana cigarette.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Pronunciation spelling of build.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for bill →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
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