quill

[ kwil ]
See synonyms for quill on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. one of the large feathers of the wing or tail of a bird.

  2. the hard, hollow, basal part of a feather.

  1. a feather, as of a goose, formed into a pen for writing.

  2. one of the hollow spines on a porcupine or hedgehog.

  3. a plectrum of a harpsichord.

  4. a roll of bark, as of cinnamon, formed in drying.

  5. a reed or other hollow stem on which yarn is wound.

  6. a bobbin or spool.

  7. a toothpick.

  8. Machinery.

    • a hollow shaft or sleeve through which another independently rotating shaft may pass.

    • a shaft, joined to and supported by two other shafts or machines, for transmitting motion from one to the other.

    • a rotating toolholder used in boring or facing internal angles.

  9. a musical pipe, especially one made from a hollow reed.

verb (used with object)
  1. Textiles.

    • to arrange (fabric) in flutes or cylindrical ridges, as along the edge of a garment, hem, etc.

    • to wind on a quill, as yarn.

  2. to penetrate with, or as if with, a quill or quills.

  1. to extract a quill or quills from: to quill a duck before cooking it.

Origin of quill

1
1375–1425; late Middle English quil; compare Low German quiele,German Kiel

Other words from quill

  • quill-like, adjective

Words that may be confused with quill

Words Nearby quill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use quill in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for quill

quill

/ (kwɪl) /


noun
    • any of the large stiff feathers of the wing or tail of a bird

    • the long hollow central part of a bird's feather; calamus

  1. a bird's feather made into a pen for writing

  1. any of the stiff hollow spines of a porcupine or hedgehog

  2. a device, formerly usually made from a crow quill, for plucking a harpsichord string

  3. angling a length of feather barb stripped of barbules and used for the body of some artificial flies

  4. a small roll of bark, esp one of dried cinnamon

  5. (in weaving) a bobbin or spindle

  6. a fluted fold, as in a ruff

  7. a hollow shaft that rotates upon an inner spindle or concentrically about an internal shaft

verb(tr)
  1. to wind (thread, yarn, etc) onto a spool or bobbin

  2. to make or press fluted folds in (a ruff)

Origin of quill

1
C15 (in the sense: hollow reed or pipe): of uncertain origin; compare Middle Low German quiele quill

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for quill

quill

[ kwĭl ]


  1. The hollow shaft of a feather, the bottom of which attaches to the bird's skin.

  2. One of the sharp hollow spines of a porcupine or hedgehog.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.