quail

¹

[kweyl]

noun

plural

quails ,

plural

quail .

1. Also called true quail. any of numerous gallinaceous birds, order Galliformes, classified as either Old World quails, within the pheasant family (Phasinidae), especially the genus Coturnix, or the distantly related New World quails, comprising their own family (Odontophoridae), including the genera Colinus, Callipepla, and Odontophorus : among the most familiar true quails are the Old World king quail and the New World bobwhite.

2. button quail.

3. Older Slang.,  a woman or girl.

quail

²

[kweyl]

verb (used without object)

1. to lose heart or courage in difficulty or danger; shrink with fear.

   Synonyms: cower, blench, flinch, recoil

quail

¹

/ kweɪl /

noun

1. any small Old World gallinaceous game bird of the genus Coturnix and related genera, having a rounded body and small tail: family Phasianidae (pheasants)

2. any of various similar and related American birds, such as the bobwhite

quail

²

/ kweɪl /

verb

1. (intr) to shrink back with fear; cower

Other Word Forms

• quaillike adjective
• unquailing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of quail¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English quaille, quaylle, from Old French quaille, from Medieval Latin quaccola; imitative of its call

Origin of quail²

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle Dutch quelen, queilen

Word History and Origins

Origin of quail¹

C14: from Old French quaille, from Medieval Latin quaccula, probably of imitative origin

Origin of quail²

C15: perhaps from Old French quailler, from Latin coāgulāre to curdle

Synonym Study

See wince ¹.

Example Sentences

He flips a jar of sumac between his hands like a baseball while teasing a regular, a woman in zebra-print pants with a diamond wedding ring the size of a quail’s egg.

From Salon

Instead, the firm has chosen quail because fewer people know what it is supposed to taste like.

From BBC

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland used cage-type traps baited with venison and quail - a small game bird - to capture the cats.

From BBC

RZSS, which runs a wildlife park nearby, used cage-type traps baited with venison and quail, a small game bird, to capture the cats.

From BBC

He loved to hunt and cook, sometimes combining the two passions at the fire station by serving quail enchiladas, the poultry fresh from a recent hunt.

From Los Angeles Times