bill English[edit] Pronunciation[edit] Etymology 1[edit] From Middle English expense , bille , bil , coming from Old English bil , bill (“a hooked point; curved weapon; two-edged saber”), coming from Proto-Germanic *bilją (“axe; saber; cutter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyH- (“to strike; defeat”). Cognate with West Frisian bile (“axe”), Dutch bijl (“axe”), German