Where does “handbill” come from?
Handbill comes from English hand and bill, where bill derives from Middle English bille, Anglo-Norman bille, Latin bulla meaning a seal or rounded object, and Proto-Indo-European bew- meaning to swell.
handbill (English): A pruning hook; A chopping instrument; billhook;...
Definitions
- A pruning hook; A chopping instrument; billhook;...
Ancestry of “handbill”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Bill | — |
| 2 | Middle English | bill | — |
| 3 | Old English | bil | a kind of sword or other bladed weapon,... |
| 4 | Frankish | billi | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bilją | a cutting implement; blade; axe; sword; spike;... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | harjaz | army; army leader; commander; warrior |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kóryos | war; troops; army; war, troops |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |