bill

pronunciation

How to pronounce bill in British English: UK [bɪl]word uk audio image

How to pronounce bill in American English: US [bɪl] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    a statute in draft before it becomes law
    an itemized statement of money owed for goods shipped or services rendered
    a piece of paper money (especially one issued by a central bank)
    the entertainment offered at a public presentation
    a list of particulars (as a playbill or bill of fare)
    an advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution
    horny projecting mouth of a bird
    a sign posted in a public place as an advertisement
    a long-handled saw with a curved blade
    a brim that projects to the front to shade the eyes
  • Verb:
    demand payment
    advertise especially by posters or placards
    publicize or announce by placards

Word Origin

bill
bill: There are three distinct words bill in English (not counting the proper name), and of them all, the most recent is the commonest. Bill ‘note of charges’ [14] comes from Anglo-Latin billa, which is probably a variant of Latin bulla ‘_document, seal’ (as in ‘papal bull’). English billet [15], as in ‘billeting soldiers on a house’, was originally a diminutive form of billa (French billet ‘letter’ comes from the same source). Bill ‘hook-bladed weapon’ [OE], now found mainly in billhook, comes from a prehistoric West Germanic *bilja, which may be based ultimately on Indo-European *bhid-, source of English bite. Bill ‘beak’ [OE] may be related to bill ‘weapon’, but this is not clear.The verbal sense ‘caress’, as in ‘bill and coo’, is 16th-century; it arose from the courting behaviour of doves stroking each other’s beaks.=> billet
bill (n.1)
"written statement," mid-14c., from Anglo-French bille, Anglo-Latin billa "list," from Medieval Latin bulla "decree, seal, sealed document," in classical Latin "bubble, boss, stud, amulet for the neck" (hence "seal;" see bull (n.2)). Sense of "account, invoice" first recorded c. 1400; that of "order to pay" (technically bill of exchange) is from 1570s; that of "paper money" is from 1660s. Meaning "draft of an act of Parliament" is from 1510s.
bill (n.2)
"bird's beak," Old English bill "bill, bird's beak," related to bill, a poetic word for a kind of sword (especially one with a hooked blade), from a common Germanic word for cutting or chopping weapons (compare Old High German bihal, Old Norse bilda "hatchet," Old Saxon bil "sword"), from PIE root *bheie- "to cut, to strike" (cognates: Armenian bir "cudgel," Greek phitos "block of wood," Old Church Slavonic biti "to strike," Old Irish biail "ax"). Used also in Middle English of beak-like projections of land (such as Portland Bill).
bill (v.)
"to send someone a bill of charge," 1864, from bill (n.1). Related: Billed; billing.
bill (n.3)
ancient weapon, Old English bill "sword (especially one with a hooked blade), chopping tool," common Germanic (compare Old Saxon bil "sword," Middle Dutch bile, Dutch bijl, Old High German bihal, German Beil, Old Norse bilda "hatchet." See bill (n.2).

Example

1. The financial regulation bill is an illustration .
2. View the savings goal as a bill each month .
3. The senate is expected to pass the bill wednesday .
4. Then green saw a phone bill .
5. Under the napkin was a one hundred dollar bill .

more: >How to Use "Bill" with Example Sentences