Gill

¹ American  

[gil, jil] / gɪl, dʒɪl /

noun

1. a male given name.

2. a female given name.

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gill ² American  

[gil] / gɪl /

noun

1. the respiratory organ of aquatic animals, as fish, that breathe oxygen dissolved in water.

2. Also called lamella.  one of the radiating vertical plates on the underside of the cap of an agaric mushroom.

3. ground ivy.

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verb (used with object)

1. to gut or clean (fish).

2. to catch (fish) by the gills in a gill net.

idioms

1. green / white around the gills, somewhat pale, as from being sickly, nervous, or frightened.

   The tourists were seasick—all of them green around the gills as the boat rocked back to shore.

2. to the gills, completely; fully; totally.

   After that big meal we were all stuffed to the gills.

gill ³ American  

[gil] / gɪl /

noun

British.

1. a deep rocky cleft or wooded ravine forming the course of a stream.

2. a stream; brook; rivulet.

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gill ⁴ American  

[gil] / gɪl /

noun

1. a faller used in the combing process, generally for only the highest-quality fibers.

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verb (used with object)

1. to comb (fibers) with a gill.

gill ⁵ American  

[jil] / dʒɪl /

noun

1. a unit of liquid measure equal to ¼ pint (118.2937 milliliters).

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gill ⁶ American  

[jil] / dʒɪl /

noun

Archaic.

1. a girl or young woman, especially a sweetheart.

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gill ¹ British  

/ ɡɪl /

noun

1. the respiratory organ in many aquatic animals, consisting of a membrane or outgrowth well supplied with blood vessels. External gills occur in tadpoles, some molluscs, etc; internal gills , within gill slits, occur in most fishes

2. any of the radiating leaflike spore-producing structures on the undersurface of the cap of a mushroom

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verb

1. to catch (fish) or (of fish) to be caught in a gill net

2. (tr) to gut (fish)

Gill ² British  

/ ɡɪl /

noun

1. ( Arthur ) Eric ( Rowton ). 1882–1940, British sculptor, engraver, and typographer: his sculptures include the Stations of the Cross in Westminster Cathedral, London

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gill ³ British  

/ ɡɪl /

noun

1. a narrow stream; rivulet

2. a wooded ravine

3. (capital when part of place name) a deep natural hole in rock; pothole

   Gaping Gill

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gill ⁴ British  

/ dʒɪl /

noun

1. a unit of liquid measure equal to one quarter of a pint

2. dialect half a pint, esp of beer

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gill ⁵ British  

/ dʒɪl /

noun

1. archaic a girl or sweetheart

2. Also spelt: jill.  dialect a female ferret

3. an archaic or dialect name for ground ivy

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gill Scientific  

/ gĭl /

1. The organ that enables most aquatic animals to take dissolved oxygen from the water. It consists of a series of membranes that have many small blood vessels. Oxygen passes into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide passes out of it as water flows across the membranes.

2. One of the thin strips of tissue on the underside of the cap of many species of basidiomycete fungi. Gills produce the spore-bearing structures known as basidia.

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Other Word Forms

• gill-less adjective
• gill-like adjective
• gilled adjective

Etymology

Origin of gill¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gile, from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse gjǫlnar, from unattested gelnō; cognate with Swedish gäl, Danish gælle, Norwegian gjelle “gill”

Origin of gill¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gille, from Old Norse gil

Origin of gill¹

First recorded in 1830–40; perhaps special use of gill ¹

Origin of gill¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English gille, from Old French: “vat, tub,” from Late Latin gello, gillo “water pot”

Origin of gill¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English gil(le) (generic use of Gil(le), short form of Gillian; Gillian

Example Sentences

Their gill arch system forms a funnel that is widest at the mouth and narrows toward the gullet.

From Science Daily

It’s also helpful to show the gills located underneath its cap, Diaz said.

From Los Angeles Times

But the managers of alternative assets have this gigantic market squarely in their sights—especially now that institutional investors are stuffed to the gills with private assets they’ve been struggling to unload.

From The Wall Street Journal

For more than an hour, I lost myself in a flow state as I sought to replicate the slender mushroom’s fine gills and delicate but ragged skirt.

From The Wall Street Journal

Are we not warmed by the same ultraviolet rays, quenched by the same pirated water, ensnared in the same gill net of freeways?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• run