BILLHOOK

bill, billhook

(noun) a cutting tool with a sharp edge; “he used a bill to prune branches off of the tree”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

billhook (plural billhooks)

(weapons) A medieval polearm with a similar construct, fitted to a long handle, sometimes with an L-shaped tine or a spike protruding from the side or the end of the blade for tackling the opponent; a bill

An agricultural implement often with a curved or hooked end to the blade used for pruning or cutting thick, woody plants.

Written as bill-hook: a part of the knotting mechanism in a reaper-binder or baler (agricultural machinery).

Written as bill hook: a spiked hook used in offices and shops for hanging bills or other small papers such as receipts.

(ornithology) Written as bill hook: a sharply pointed spike growing from the tip of the upper mandible of the hatchlings of honeyguides, used to destroy the eggs and kill the chicks of the host species.

Synonyms

• handbill, pruning hook, hack, hacker, hedging bill, hedging-bill, hedge bill, bill, broom hook, block hook, Yorkshire bill, vine hook

Verb

billhook (third-person singular simple present billhooks, present participle billhooking, simple past and past participle billhooked)

To use a billhook

Anagrams

• hookbill

Source: Wiktionary

Bill"hook`, n. Etym: [Bill + hook.]

Definition: A thick, heavy knife with a hooked point, used in pruning hedges, etc. When it has a short handle, it is sometimes called a hand bill; when the handle is long, a hedge bill or scimiter.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition