Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913 Brown bill /broun bĭl/ · Brown· bill · IPA 01 A bill or halberd of the 16th and 17th centuries. See 4th Bill. 1. A bill or halberd of the 16th and 17th centuries. See 4th Bill. See: Bill “Many time, but for a sallet, my brainpan had been cleft with a brown bill.” — Shak.