crowbill

== English == === Etymology === 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”). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɹəʊbɪl/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɹoʊˌbɪl/ Hyphenation: crow‧bill === Noun === crowbill (plural crowbills) (surgery) A kind of forceps for extracting bullets, etc., from wounds. Synonym: crow's bill (weaponry, historical) Synonym of bec de corbin (“poleaxe with a modified hammerhead and a spike mounted on the top of the pole”). ==== Alternative forms ==== crow-bill ==== Hypernyms ==== (surgery): forceps (weaponry): poleaxe ==== Related terms ==== billhook crowbar ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === 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, 2011–present.