quilt

[kwilt]

noun

a coverlet for a bed, made of two layers of fabric with some soft substance, as wool or down, between them and stitched in patterns or tufted through all thicknesses in order to prevent the filling from shifting.

anything quilted or resembling a quilt.

a bedspread or counterpane, especially a thick one.

Obsolete. a mattress.

verb (used with object)

to stitch together (two pieces of cloth and a soft interlining), usually in an ornamental pattern.

to sew up between pieces of material.

to pad or line with material.

verb (used without object)

to make quilts or quilted work.

Origin of quilt

1250–1300; Middle English quilte < Old French cuilte < Latin culcita mattress, cushion

Related formsquilt·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quilter

Contemporary Examples of quilter

Cox has been quilting for 20 years and her latest book is The Quilter's Catalog: A Comprehensive Resource Guide.
Quilts for Obama
Meg Cox
May 16, 2009

Historical Examples of quilter

“We want everything you took from Quilter, the papers first,” he said.
The Cattle-Baron's Daughter
Harold Bindloss
About artists and their work Mr. Quilter has, of course, a great deal to say.
Reviews
Oscar Wilde
On the general principles of art Mr. Quilter writes with equal lucidity.
Reviews
Oscar Wilde
Mademoiselle Giraud was a quilter, and sometimes worked at Madam Galley's, which procured her free admission to the house.
The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau, Complete
Jean Jacques Rousseau
How closely the lines are drawn depends wholly upon the ambition and diligence of the quilter.
Quilts
Marie D. Webster

British Dictionary definitions for quilter

quilt

noun

a thick warm cover for a bed, consisting of a soft filling sewn between two layers of material, usually with crisscross seams

a bedspread or counterpane

anything quilted or resembling a quilt

verb (tr)

to stitch together (two pieces of fabric) with (a thick padding or lining) between themto quilt cotton and wool

to create (a garment, covering, etc) in this way

to pad with material

Australian informal to strike; clout

Derived Formsquilter, noun

Word Origin for quilt

C13: from Old French coilte mattress, from Latin culcita stuffed item of bedding

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

Word Origin and History for quilter

late 13c. (late 12c. as a surname); agent noun from quilt (v.).

quilt

c.1300, "mattress with soft lining," from Anglo-French quilte, Old French cuilte, coute "quilt, mattress" (12c.), from Latin culcita "mattress, bolster," of unknown origin. Sense of "thick outer bed covering" is first recorded 1590s.

quilt

1550s, from quilt (n.). Related: Quilted; quilting. Quilting bee attested from 1824 (see bee).