quill

American  

[kwil] / kwɪl /

noun

• quills
  plural

1. one of the large feathers of the wing or tail of a bird.

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

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

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

5. a plectrum of a harpsichord.

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

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

8. a bobbin or spool.

9. a toothpick.

10. Machinery.

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

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

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

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

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verb (used with object)

1. Textiles.

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

   2. to wind on a quill, as yarn.

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

3. to extract a quill or quills from.

   to quill a duck before cooking it.

quill British  

/ kwɪl /

noun

1. 1. any of the large stiff feathers of the wing or tail of a bird

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. (in weaving) a bobbin or spindle

8. a fluted fold, as in a ruff

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

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verb

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

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

quill Scientific  

/ 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• quill-like
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• quills
  plural

Etymology

Origin of quill

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

Explanation

A quill is a feather, or the narrow tube of a feather's shaft — long ago used as a writing instrument. John Hancock didn't use a ballpoint to sign the Declaration of Independence, silly. He used a quill! The quills of a bird's feathers seem ideally designed for dipping in ink and writing on paper — they're so perfect that this type of old-fashioned pen is also called a quill. In addition to birds, there are some mammals with quills, including porcupines and hedgehogs. We know that quill comes from the Low German quiele , but beyond that its origin is a mystery.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quill quills

Instead, she decided "I'm just going to enjoy it" and wore - appropriately - a red quill headpiece to the Baftas.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

The dining room table, where the sisters wrote, is strewn with manuscripts, quill pens and tea cups; a bonnet and shawl bedeck a chair in the small kitchen.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

Rather than fixating on Jefferson’s quill scratches, Mr. Amar illuminates how this equality ethos resonated with America’s most profound thinkers—from the fiery eloquence of Frederick Douglass to the unyielding advocacy of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

When I told Julie that I planned to live for a year constitutionally—muskets, quill pens, and all—her reaction was not “Huzzah!”

From Slate ● May 8, 2024

He pulled out the quill and held it up.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

As late as the 1800s, most commodities were cultivated: Cinnamon bark was peeled and rolled into quills, opium juiced from poppies, and tea leaves dried out in the sun.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The hollow spikes may have served as a defensive adaptation, functioning in a way similar to the quills of a porcupine by discouraging predators from attacking.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 18, 2026

Each one is hand-plucked, which means you may spot a few black quills here and there; the company insists they’re harmless, and they disappear once cooked.

From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2025

BBC Scotland News understands bedding was discovered with porcupine quills in the straw.

From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2025

He hadn’t thought porcupines capable of launching quills from their backs.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman