Bill
/bɪl/noun
A written note, list, or statement of charges; also a proposed law or the beak of a bird.
Did you know?The financial sense of bill comes from a medieval Latin word for an official document, while the bird sense is a completely different word from a root meaning “beak” or “point,” so English split one sound into two unrelated histories.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhel-
“to blow, swell, or bulge”
Late Latin
Latin
bulla
“a bubble, knob, or seal; later an official sealed document”
Old French
Old French
billet
“a written note, letter, or document”
Middle English
English
bil
“a written note, list, or account”
Modern English
English
bill
“a written statement of charges, a proposed law, or a bird’s beak”