# Old Bill

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A police officer.
2. The police force.
3. A soldier, especially one who resembles the cartoon character of the same name created by Bruce Bairnsfather in 1914.

## Etymology
Unknown. Suggested sources for the police officer and police force terms include:
#Old Bill, comic character created by Bruce Bairnsfather.
#Music hall song "Won't you come home, Bill Bailey", which references the Old Bailey criminal court.
#William IV (reigned 1830-37), who became king the year after the Metropolitan Police were founded (1829).
#Wilhelm I, Prussian Kaiser who visited the UK around the same time the custodian helmet was adopted (1863).
#bill (“cutting instrument”) or billhook, weapons carried by constables of the watch.
#bill (“written note of services rendered”), allegedly presented by a police officer to solicit a bribe.
#bill (“draft of a law”), laid in Parliament.
#Number plates for all public services, including police, registered by London County Council with the letter "BYL".
##Specifically, the cars of the Flying Squad.
#Bill Smith, a popular police sergeant in Limehouse circa 1860s.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/old-bill