Although the term Bilbo does not appear in old documents, in the play The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare, there is a reference to swords presumably made of Biscayan iron which he calls "bilboes", suggesting that it is a word used since at least the sixteenth century.
Iako se pojam „Bilbo“ ne pojavljuje u starim dokumentima, u predstavi „Vesele supruge Windsora“ Williama Shakespearea, postoji spomen na mačeve vjerojatno izrađene od biskajskog željeza koje on naziva "bilboes", sugerirajući da se riječ od najmanje šesnaestog stoljeća.