ˈgoose-bill
Used as a name for things resembling the bill of a goose.
1. The plant Galium Aparine: = goose-grass 2.
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal Suppl., Goose bill, Aparine. 1886 Syd. Soc. Lex., Goosebill, the Galium aparine, in reference to the serrated edges of the leaves and their resemblance to the rough edges of the mandibles of the goose. |
† 2. A kind of forceps for extracting bullets, etc. (Cf. crow-bill 2.) Obs.
| 1676 Coles, Goos-bill, a Chirurgeons instrument of the same use as a Crow-bill. 1706 in Phillips (ed. Kersey). 1823 in Crabb Technol. Dict. |
3. Naut. (See quot.)
| 1735–40 Dyche & Pardon Dict., Goose-bill, a particular sail used at sea, when a ship goes before the wind, or with a quarter wind. |