quill
/kwɪl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.11 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The lower shaft of a feather, specifically the region lacking barbs.
noun
A sharply pointed, barbed, and easily detached needle-like structure that grows on the skin of a porcupine or hedgehog as a defense against predators.
noun
The tube of a musical instrument.
Example Sentences
- "The note was written in a delicate hand with a crow-quill, on primrose-coloured paper, with a lilac seal—the motto "tout à vous;" and the whole with just a faint perfume of jasmine."
- "He picked up his quill and wrote a poem."
- "I could a Tale vnfold, vvhoſe lighteſt vvord / VVould harrovv vp thy ſoule, freeze thy young blood, / Make thy tvvo eyes like Starres, ſtart from their Spheres, / Thy knotty and combined locks to part, / And each particular haire to ſtand an end, / Like Quilles vpon the fretfull Porpentine: […]"
- "He touched the tender stops of various quills."
- "His hair still stood up in punk-rock quills and spikes."
- "The motors are attached to the bogie frames so as to be fully springborne, and drive through quills and flexible couplings to the wheels."
Etymology
From late Middle English quyl, which is first attested in the early 15th century with the meanings "fragment of reed" and "shaft of a feather", probably from Low German and Middle Low German quiele, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to pierce, stick”). Compare Middle High German kil (“large feather, quill”), which is derived from the Low German term.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: quyl, -, quiele, *gʷelH-, Ó Cuill
Usage
- Canadian usage
- American usage
- Transitive verb