duck's billn.
The bill of a duck. Applied
a. to certain instruments of this shape, chiefly in surgery. Also attributive.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > forceps
tenaclesc1400
tongsc1425
raven's bill1446
parrotbill1598
duck's bill1601
swan's bill1631
forceps1634
beaks1656
volsella1684
tenaculum1693
rostrum1722
crane's-bill1753
porte-aiguille1830
volsellum1851
vulsellum1863
iris-forceps1874
speculum forceps1875
bulldog forceps1880
1601 J. Manningham Diary 21 Feb. (1976) 52 They..grope for the stone [in the bladder] with an other toole which they call a duckes bill.
1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. 314 I took hold of it with a Forceps Ducks bills.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 4 Cleats..the thin end is shaped with a duck's bill.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 28 The lower ends are..thinned with a duck's-bill shape.
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b. Printing. A tongue cut in a piece of stout paper and pasted on at the bottom of the tympan sheet.
Compounds
duck's-bill bit n. a form of bit for use in a brace in wood-boring.
duck's-bill limpet n. a limpet of the genus Parmophorus.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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