quilln.1
/kwɪl/, U.S. /kwɪl/ 1. The shaft of a feather, or something made from it.In senses 1a, 1b frequently as the second element of compounds, as goose, crow, swan quill.
a. The hollow shaft of a feather, esp. the lower part or calamus, which lacks barbs; (more generally) a feather, esp. a quill feather; (also) a feather having a quill but no vane, a pinfeather. Also, as a mass noun: the hollow shaft of a feather as a material or medium.Also poetic: †a bird's wing (obsolete).
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the world > animals > birds > feather > [noun]
featherOE
pena1398
quill?a1425
plumec1475
the world > animals > birds > feather > [noun] > part of
pen1381
quill?a1425
dowlc1535
rib1545
web1575
pilec1600
twill1664
beard1688
pinion1691
vane1713
shaft1748
beardlet1804
medulla1826
barb1835
barbule1835
stem1845
feather-pulp1859
aftershaft1867
barbicel1869
filament1870
vexillum1871
scape1872
rachis1874
harl1877
calamus1878
radius1882
ramus1882
scapus1882
cilia1884
the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > wing or wings > feather(s) on
quill?a1425
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 116 (MED) Putte a gose quille lapped aboute wiþ towe in þe nose in stede of þe tente.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. xi. f. 163v Suche thinges as they make of fethers and quilles impaled with golde.
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 331 The seconde kinde of Teynte which fretteth the principals of a Hawke to the verie Quill.
1593 Queen Elizabeth I tr. Boethius De Consolatione Philosophiæ in Queen Elizabeth's Englishings (1899) iv. met. i. 76 Spedy quilles haue I That fur aboue the Pole do reache.
1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. iv. 33 Cause them to haue each his ruling pen, made of a quill.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Certain Misc. Tracts (1683) i. 83 A hard Reed about the compass of a Goose or Swans Quill.
1713 Countess of Winchilsea Misc. Poems 216 No Quill, thence pull'd, was shap'd into a pen.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 102 One of the quills was two feet four inches long; and the barrel, or hollow part, was six inches and three quarters.
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) ii. 8 That which you use for the troll must be strong, and have a ring on the top whipped on with a piece of quill.
1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 114 The bony tail..has a range of large quills, which..assist in supporting the bird.
1855 W. Whitman Leaves of Grass 63 The writing pen of quill or metal.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xxi. 207 He..found the quill of a cushat-dove, which he shaped into a pen.
1889 W. C. Russell Marooned I. vi. 73 The bird came to the table..somewhat prickly with unplucked quills.
1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) xvi. 433 The calamus, or quill, is the tubular semi-transparent proximal portion, the base of which is inserted into the skin.
1953 N. Tinbergen Herring Gull's World xxi. 181 Still covered with down and shows only hints of quills on its ‘wings’.
1969 R. Mayet Dict. Art Terms & Techniques 50/1 They..are preferred by some artists because quill does not break the hairs, as the edge of a metal ferrule sometimes does.
1986 Cage & Aviary Birds 25 Oct. 2/3 Their head is yellowish with a dark-tipped crest and their tail is creamy yellow with a dark quill.
b. A pen made from one of the quill feathers of a large bird (esp. a goose) by hardening, pointing, and slitting the end of the shaft. Also (in extended use): a pen of any kind; the quill regarded as the instrument of authorship (cf. pen n.3 1b).brother of the quill: see brother n. 5b; knight of the quill: see knight of the quill n. at knight n. Phrases 3b; to draw one's quill: see draw v. Phrases 7.
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society > communication > writing > writing materials > writing instrument > [noun] > pen > quill pen
featherc1000
swan-pen1426
goose-quill1552
quill1552
goose-pena1616
pen1653
quill pen1725
crow-quill1740
twill1825
swan-quill1839
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Goose quyll, calamus anserinus.
1577 J. Grange Golden Aphroditis sig. Nijv If I had Virgilles vayne to indite, or Homers quill.
1581 J. Derricke Image Irelande ii. sig. Aiv Lorde guide my quiuryng quill.
1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 97 A serpents tooth bites not so ill, As dooth a schollers angrie quill.
a1657 R. Loveday Lett. (1663) 61 I never had recreation nor business that out-prised the pleasant care I alwayes took to keep our Quills in play.
1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. Nat. Philos. i. iv. 87 The quill that a philosopher writes with, being dipt in ink, [etc.].
1684 R. Steere Monumental Memorial Marine Mercy 1 Since Every Quill is silent to Relate What being known must needs be wonder'd at I take the boldness to present to your Eye, [etc.].
1704 J. Swift Tale of Tub i. 50 A Quill worn to the Pith in the Service of the State.
1729 A. Pope Dunciad (new ed.) i. 173 Not that my quill to Critiques was confin'd.
1790 Contingent Expenses Dept. of State 8 Oct. in T. Jefferson Papers (1965) XVII. 362 For paper, ink powder, sealing wax and quills.
1814 W. Scott Waverley I. xix. 289 So that if my quill display no other properties of its mother-goose than her mutability, truly I shall be well pleased. View more context for this quotation
1834 Pearl & Lit. Gaz. 1 Feb. 107/2 It is quite sufficient, for us of the quill, to know that the noise of the bell which is borne through the Main Street, is not less constant than the muscular motion of the automaton that bears it.
1894 J. C. Jeaffreson Bk. Recoll. I. i. 20 Marvellously skilful in cutting quills and nibbing pens.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xi. [Sirens] 266 Better write it here. Quills in the postoffice chewed and twisted.
1975 J. Clavell Shōgun xlvi. 544 The priest had already used the special needle-sharp quill and ink to inscribe the same coded message on the tiny slivers of paper.
1983 New Scientist 28 Apr. 233/1 An apotheosis of ‘states of mind’ is established by the gifted editor from whose versatile quill we expect much.
c. Music. A plectrum made from the quill of a feather; any one of the set of plectrums, made originally from pieces of quill and now typically of plastic, which pluck the strings in keyboard instruments of the harpsichord family. Also figurative.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > [noun] > plectrum
nailOE
pointela1522
quill1552
plectre1603
plectrum1608
fescue?1624
pick1889
fingerpick1891
thumb pick1969
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > stringed keyboards > [noun] > parts of plucked instruments
quill1552
Jack1577
saltarello1598
virginal jack1604
mute1783
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Quyll, with whiche a musician vseth to play to saue his fingers, or any lyke thinge, plectrum.
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos vi. sig. Q.ijv Orpheus among them stands, as priest in trayling gown. And twancling makes them tune, wt notes of musyke seueral seuen. And now wt..quill, now strings he strikes with fingers euen.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §13 The sound of a Virginall String, as soone as the Quill of the Jack falleth from it, stoppeth.
1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 74 The world's a well strung fidle, mans tongue the quill.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 388 His flying Fingers, and harmonious Quill, Strike sev'n distinguish'd Notes.
1776 J. Hawkins Gen. Hist. Music I. ii. ix. 247 The Trigon..was..struck either with a quill, or beaten with little rods.
1789 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music III. 5 (note) The Virginal is a keyed instrument of one string, jack, and quill, to each note, like a spinet.
1804 R. Percival Acct. of Cape of G.H. 91 In this rude sort of guitar which they called a gabowie, was inserted a piece of looking-glass... The young woman who played..kept touching the wires with a quill.
1879 J. Stainer Music of Bible 52 Strings which, when the keys were pressed down, were plucked by quills.
1939 Hopewell (New Jersey) Herald 31 May 2/1 The harpsichord has two banks of keys. The tone is produced by the plucking of the strings by quills or leather points.
1976 D. Munrow Instruments Middle Ages & Renaissance 25/4 The long stem of the quill is shown held between the third and index finger (as a modern guitarist holds a flat pick).
2000 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 15 Apr. 120 The harpsichord's future lies in the hands of the few enthusiasts who still strike its strings with quills.
d. Angling. A narrow tubular float, made from the quill of a feather.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > float > [noun]
floata1450
quilla1609
swimmera1609
fishing-float1728
trimmer1799
bobber1881
waggler1975
a1609 J. Dennys Secrets of Angling (1613) ii. sig. D2v Your line must have no Lead at all, And but a slender Corke, or little Quill, To stay the bayte.
a1639 H. Wotton On a Bank in Poems (1843) 17 There stood my friend, with patient skill Attending of his trembling quill.
1655 E. Powel in I. Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 2) sig. A11v This Fisher-man..sits by a brook watching a quill.
1975 S. Brett Cast 77 He sat and watched the quill being borne along by the current and then leaning over as it tugged at the end of the swim.
1990 Match Fishing Feb. 46/1 I've lost count of the matches won with over 20lb using a stick float down the side, or perhaps an inverted quill.
e. Angling. An artificial fly having a body made from the quill of a feather.Frequently prefixed with the name of a colour, as ginger, red quill, etc.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > real or imitation flies
stone-flya1450
ant-fly1653
hawthorn-fly1653
mayfly1653
oak fly1653
wall-fly1653
pismire-fly1670
cow-lady1676
mayfly1676
owl fly1676
brown1681
cow-turd-fly1684
trout-fly1746
orl fly1747
hazel fly?1758
iron-blue fly?1758
red spinner?1758
Welshman's button?1758
buzz1760
Yellow Sally1766
ash-fly1787
black caterpillar1787
cow-dung fly1787
sharn-fly1787
spinner1787
woodcock-fly1787
huzzard1799
knop-fly1799
mackerel1799
watchet1799
iron blue1826
knob fly1829
mackerel fly1829
March brown1837
cinnamon fly1867
quill gnat1867
sedge-fly1867
cob-fly1870
woodcock wing1888
sedge1889
olive1895
quill1899
nymph1910
green weenie1977
Montana1987
1899 19th Cent. Jan. 125 The experiment should be made..with gaudy quills and brilliant duns, cast over shy and cautiously rising trout.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 2 June 3/2 They prefer to kill their..fish with smaller patterns—a red quill, or a Wickham's Fancy.
1933 Times 4 Aug. 13/7 Many anglers prefer a fairly big lure for this evening sport, but small flies will kill equally well; a light ginger quill or olive quill is often irresistible to trout at sundown.
1992 C. B. McCully Fly-fishing 174 The most famous of all quills is the Red Quill, which represents the olive spinners.
2. † b. A tap on a wine barrel. Obsolete.
a. A small pipe or tube (formerly, in some applications, made from the quill of a feather), esp. one used as a channel through which a fluid, powder, medication, etc., may be conveyed; spec. a small pipe for supplying water; a pipe for the application of slip decoration to pottery; a drinking straw.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > conveyor > [noun] > conduit, channel, or tube > pipe > for water > types of
suspiral1420
quillc1433
boss?1521
susper1532
fountain-pipe1664
pump log1816
wash-out1903
tie-line1949
dead leg1953
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [noun] > quality of being hollow cylinder > hollow cylinder or tube > small or narrow
quillc1433
pen?1440
burrow1615
c1433 Petition Franciscans to Trinity Coll. in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) II. 429 Thei mowe take oonly to their vse a qwil out of the pipe of the conduyt.
1526 Grete Herball cccclxxi. sig. Aaviv/1 Put the powdre at ye ende of a quyll or rede & bynde a bladder at the other ende full of wynd and blowe it in so vpon the sores.
1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie Peroration 247 As a generall fountain seruing euerie mans cestern by priuat quills and pipes.
a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) sig. L1 Or whilst one is a sleepe, to take a quill And blowe a little powder in his eares.
1603 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues (new ed.) 356 He cut off the pipes and quils [1579–95 quilles] priuate men had made to conuey water into their houses and gardens.
1610 G. Markham Maister-peece ii. lxxi. 337 With a cornet and a quill, blow the skinne from the flesh aboue the bone.
1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xxvi. xxxv. 1069 Dry errhines are to be blown into the nose with a pipe or quill.
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall vi. 57 We took a slender Quill of Glass which happen'd to be at hand.
1710 E. Ward Life Don Quixote i. iv. 71 As Fluxing Patients..Suck Broaths and Cordials thro' a Quill.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 197 The Bore of the Quill ought to be four Times less than the Bore..of the Conduit-Pipe.
1772 Philos. Trans. 1771 (Royal Soc.) 61 116 A long vial was fitted to the quill of the receiver, in order to hold the liquid that distilled.
1846 in J. Thirsk & J. Imray Suffolk Farming 19th Cent. (1958) 66 Permission to lay down a quill or watercourse.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. at Monkey-pump Straws or quills for sucking the liquid from a cask, through a gimlet-hole made for the purpose.
1889 Harper's Mag. Aug. 364/1 During the Franco-Prussian war and the siege of Paris small photographic copies of valuable documents and daily papers were made and rolled into quills, which were fastened to carrier-pigeons.
1913 C. Johnson Highways St. Lawrence to Virginia 66 They got quills for to suck through, but it still made 'em have sore tongues and sore throats.
1974 G. Savage & H. Newman Illustr. Dict. Ceramics 214 Pastillage.., slip applied by trailing through a quill.
1977 Lancet 11 June 1229/1 The sperms were tested against pre-ovulatory cervical mucus obtained by means of a quill from the wife and from donors of proven fertility.
2004 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. Sentinel (Nexis) 31 Mar. e2 Slip trailing, a way of laying down a line of liquid clay..—generally, by means of a quill whose output is started and stopped by movements of a finger over a small hole.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > tap
tapc1050
faucet?a1400
cockc1483
spigot1530
vice1530
water cock1585
quill1611
spicket1888
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xv. 641/1 With what quill these wines were vented from the setled Lees.
1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. xx. 177 [To have] a little spigott, or quill att the outside of the hole, that by the narrow length of it helpeth in some sort (as it were) to sucke it.
1727 A. Boyer Dictionaire Royal (rev. ed.) (at cited word) The Quill (or Tap) of a Barrel.
1764 J. Bell Trav. from St. Petersburg (new ed.) II. x. 28 The juggler..asked, whether we chose red or white wine? the question being answered, he..put a quill in the hole, through which ran, as from a cask, the wine demanded.
c. U.S. colloquial. A straw or tube through which drugs may be sniffed; (also, occasionally) the drug itself.
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > [noun] > equipment for taking drugs
outfit1881
cooker1905
quill1916
spike1934
work1934
joint1935
rig1935
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s)
opiate?a1425
dope1886
hop1887
Peter1899
quill1916
junk1921
narcotic1926
stuff1929
mojo1935
sugar1935
gear1954
narco1954
sauce1975
opie1992
Scooby Snack1996
1703 M. Martin Descr. W. Islands Scotl. 40 She took a Quill with which she ordinarily snushed her Tobacco.]
1916 New Republic 22 Apr. 314 Heroin..is sniffed through the nose in a ‘quill’.
1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 94/2 Quill, choicest grade opium.
1971 Black Scholar Sept. 36/1 He..rolled a ten dollar bill up into a quill and gave the coke and quill to Christine, who snorted up half of the line on the card.
2003 W. Williams Wendy's got Heat viii. 131 I was cleaning out my bag,..looking for something to use as a quill. I had just gotten a package delivered from my Bronx dealer.
3. † a. A hollow plant stem or stalk, as that of a reed or the straw of a cereal crop; spec. a smooth piece of stem between two nodes. Obsolete.
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the world > plants > part of plant > stem or stalk > [noun] > hollow stem or kex
kex1377
bunc1440
quill1440
bun-wand1588
kecksya1616
kedlock1694
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 421 Qvylle, stalke, calamus.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Caloniere, a pot-gunne made of a Quill, or Elder sticke.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 84/2 Of a Tree..the Quill, is the Cane, or space between two such joints.
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. iv. 283 The trunks were succeeded by pot-guns made with hollow pieces of elder, or of quills... Called also popguns.
b. Spinning and Weaving. A piece of a hollow plant stem, esp. of a reed, on which yarn is wound; a bobbin, a spool, a pirn; (also, occasionally Needlework) a spool for thread. Now chiefly historical.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > winding > winding on spool or bobbin > spool or bobbin
spoolc1325
pirn1440
rocket1440
quillc1450
bobbin1530
reed1530
spill1594
twill1664
ratchet1728
pirnie1776
runner1784
reel1785
spindle1837
c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 613/7 Spola, a Quyl or a Spole.
1547 W. Salesbury Dict. Eng. & Welshe Prikied edafedd, a quyll of yorne.
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Fusée, avec ses pesons, the quill of threed, or the spindle and threed with the werble.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iv. vii. 204 Hee beareth Argent, three Weauers Shuttles Sable, tipped and furnished with Quils of Yarne.
1661 W. Petty in T. Birch Hist. Royal Soc. (1756) I. 59 It [sc. a shuttle] hath a hollow belly, to contain the quill of yarn which it carries.
?1680 More Haste, Worst Speed (single sheet) If I should a Weaver have,..Either wind Silk, or fill his quills, 'tis either I can fit.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 245. ⁋2 Gold Etuys for Quills, Scissars, Needles, Thimbles.
1756 W. Toldervy Hist. Two Orphans II. 184 I'll wind quills for the weavers.
c1828 W. Berry Encycl. Her. I. Gloss. Trundles, quills of gold thread used by embroiderers, and borne by them in the Arms of their Company.
1837 Laird of Logan 196 The weavers..wi' their quiles o'yarn on their backs, and their hecks trantling ower their shouthers.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Quill, to wind the yarn from the hank or skein on to a bobbin, called a quill, for the weaver's shuttle.
1926 M. Richards tr. G. Renard & G. Weulersse Life & Work in Mod. Europe iv. 182 Everything was fixed, down to the size of the ‘leaf’ and ‘quill’ to be used, and the number of threads.
1965 E. Tunis Colonial Craftsmen iv. 102 A narrow cavity in the shuttle held the weft, wound on a ‘quill’—usually a section of hollow reed—that rotated freely on a wire sprung between the ends of the recess.
2006 Herald Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 17 June 51 A quill is a reed or hollow stem on to which the thread of the weft is wound when weaving material.
c. A musical pipe, originally one made from a hollow plant stem; spec. (chiefly U.S. regional (southern and south Midland)) any one of the pipes in a set of pan pipes; (usually in plural) a set of pan pipes.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > made of straw
reeda1387
fistulaa1398
oat reeda1522
quill1567
reed pipe1567
oat-pipe1586
oat1587
straw1598
whistle-stalka1657
oaten1825
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > pan-pipes
fristelec1400
fretel1480
quill1567
syrinx1606
mouth organ1670
sheng1795
panpipe1805
pandean harmonica1807
pandean pipe1814
shō1888
1567 G. Turberville Epitaphes, Epigrams f. 56 Assist mee with your skilfull Quilles and listen when I call.
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. June vi. f. 23v For they bene daughters of the hyghest Ioue, And holden scorne of homely shepheards quill.
1633 P. Fletcher Purple Island xi. ii. 146 Who now shall teach to change my oaten quill For trumpet 'larms.
1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 25 in Justa Edouardo King He touch'd the tender stops of various quills.
1682 M. Coppinger Poems, Songs & Love-verses 103 Fair Daphne playing on a rural Quill, Both Hills and Dales with Corydon shall fill.
1710 A. Philips Pastorals iv. 28 Yet Colinet..My fingers guided on the tuneful Quill.
1786 R. Polwhele tr. Theocritus Epigrams in Idyllia, Epigrams & Fragments of Theocritus, Bion, & Moschus 220 I'll try a Tune upon my Quill: The Herdsman Daphnis too shall play On his wax'd Reed, a lively Lay.
1878 R. Browning Poets Croisic xlviii Joining the Delphic quill and Getic trump.
1879 Harper's Mag. Sept. 515/2 We glanced corroboratively at a gaping dozen or two of tow-heads, ranging in size from five feet downward, like the quills in a darky's pipe of Pan.
1886 Cent. Mag. Feb. 521/2 To show how far the art of playing the ‘quills’ could be carried..see this ‘quill tune’..from a gentleman who heard it in Alabama.
1941 Slave Narr. (Federal Writers' Project WPA) IV. i. 46 George, he blowed de quills, and he sho' could blow good dance music on 'em.
1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. iii. 20 The homemade instruments of the Negro are described in some detail, the tambo, bones, quills, fife, triangle.
2005 D. Weissman Blues i. 7 She also writes that simple flutes like quills and pipes were used, and that by the eighteenth-century black fiddlers were a normal part of the musical scene on the plantation.
d. U.S. The whistle of a steam locomotive, esp. as sounded musically or distinctively; (also) the sound made by, or a blast on, such a whistle. Cf. quill v. 6.
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society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > locomotive > steam locomotive > whistle
train whistle1846
quill1940
1940 Railroad Mag. Apr. 50/2 Quill, Southern word for whistle.
1945 F. H. Hubbard Railroad Avenue ii. 9 With its interpretive tone the ballast scorcher could make that quill say its prayers or scream like a banshee.
1967 V. Williams Greenbones 138 ‘Like the sweetest quill I ever heard,’ one said. He meant train whistles.
1999 J. Welsh Amer. Railroad 153/1 The most personal relationship an engineer had with his locomotive was with its steam whistle, or ‘quill’. Many an engine and its hogger had a trademark sound, a musical wail.
2002 Trains Apr. 70 I..threw in a few quills to scare errant beasts from the track.
4. Any of the sharp, partly hollow spines of a porcupine or (chiefly North American) a hedgehog.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Hystricomorpha (porcupine or guinea-pig) > [noun] > family Hystricidae (porcupine) > parts of
quill1590
pen1607
porcupine quill1664
porcupine stone1676
spine1753
1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 2nd Pt. sig. F7v Their haire as white as milke and soft as Downe. Which should be like the quilles of Porcupines.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. v. 20 Make..each particular haire to stand on end Like quils vpon the fretfull Porpentine.
1675 N. Grew Disc. Tastes Plants vi. §9 As the Quills in the Skin of a Porcupine.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Hair The quills of the hedge-hog and porcupine have somewhat of a pith in a starlike form.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 108 All these quills..incline backwards, like the bristles of an hog.
1818 W. Taylor in Monthly Rev. 85 494 With a sort of hedgehog hostility, which points its vulnerative quills in every direction alike.
1872 C. Darwin Expression Emotions Man & Animals iv. 93 Porcupines rattle their quills and vibrate their tails when angered.
1927 A. C. Parker Indian How Bk. i. xii. 57 Wampum was first made from the quills of the porcupine cut into bead-lengths and strung on fine sinew.
1983 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 22 June a1 These..meatballs are studded with slivered almonds to resemble hedgehog quills.
1993 Down East Aug. 5/3 I just don't want my dog coming in the house with a faceful of quills.
5. A cylindrical container that is filled with gunpowder so as to form an explosive device. Now historical. Cf. quill-tube n. (a) at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > parts of
quill1629
report1653
red fire1680
cartouche1719
blue light1761
sun case1765
choke1786
settle1873
touchpaper1873
wheel-case1875
lance1878
starting powder1886
pastille1890
1629 F. Malthus Treat. Artific. Fire-works xiii. 99 The golden rayne..is made when manie quils filled..are put vpon a great rocket.
1673 R. Boyle Of Great Efficacy v. 28 in Ess. Effluviums The irregular and wrigling motion of those fired Squibs that Boys are wont to make by ramming Gunpowder into Quills.
1696 R. Howlett School Recreat. (new ed.) 33 A Quill of Wild Fire..or Stopple.
1775 M. Patten Day-bk. 2 May in K. Miller et al. Irish Immigrants in Land of Canaan (2003) 554 Shed forged a Guard and some Rods for pining on the Quils and Stock on the gun.
1891 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) In mining, a train for igniting a blast, consisting of a quill filled with slow-burning powder: it is now superseded by the safety fuse.
1893 Dict. National Biogr. XXXVI. 215/2 Among his other inventions were the quill percussion tubes for ships' cannon, and for this he received the large silver medal and 30l. from the board of ordnance.
1969 Master Drawings 7 299/2 The lower part of this drawing shows how to make [the firework called] golden rain, formed of quills tamped with powder.
6. A piece of cinnamon or cinchona bark curled up in the form of a tube.In quot. 1811: the extent to which such bark curls up in drying.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > cinnamon or cassia > rolled cinnamon stick
sticka1475
cinnamon stick1616
quill1754
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > non-British medicinal trees or shrubs > cinchona tree or bark > piece of bark
quill1754
1753 W. Lewis New Dispensatory 106/1 The bark of the root [sc. of caperbush]..is pretty thick..cut in slices and laid to dry, it rolls up into quills.]
1754 New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. III. 2642/1 The smaller pieces [of peruvian bark], in quills, are generally the best; the larger, and flatter fragments having less virtue.
1797 Encycl. Brit. V. 12/2 The bark which is rolled up into short thick quills..was esteemed the best.
1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory ii. 110 The secondary [characteristics]..are exterior coat, fracture, weight, thickness, and quill.
1852 C. Morfit Art of Tanning, Currying, & Leather-dressing (1853) 86 It is known to commerce as cassia, and comes in single quills.
1910 W. Martindale & W. W. Westcott Extra Pharmacopœia (ed. 14) 237 The Quinine barks..now imported from South America, are chiefly the Calisaya in quills... The old natural ‘flat’ Calisaya bark is not now met with.
1949 Charleston (W. Virginia) Gaz. 21 July 21/2 To prepare the quills skilled peelers introduce the smaller rolls of bark into the larger rolls.
2006 Fair Comment (Fairtrade Foundation) Spring 7/1 Fourteen new Fairtrade certified spices..including..Ground and Whole Cardamom, Cinnamon Quills, Ground Cinnamon, [etc.].
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning or cleanliness of the person > [noun] > cleaning the teeth > implements for
picker1481
toothpick1488
picktooth1542
tooth-picker1545
tooth-scrape1552
pick1562
tooth-rake1585
tooth-scraper1585
teeth-brush1651
dentiscalp1656
toothbrush1690
quill toothpick1775
quill1785
chew-stick1858
tooth-stick1859
dental silk1907
dental floss1922
floss1936
airbrasive1945
Water Pik1962
water toothpick1965
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 628 He picks clean teeth, and, busy as he seems With an old tavern quill, is hungry yet.
1881 Cent. Mag. Nov. 138/2 ‘Sometimes’, said the book-agent, picking his teeth with a quill, ‘you'll go to a house, and they'll say they can't be induced to buy a book of any kind.’
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > neck-wear > [noun] > ruff > pleat in
purl1593
set1594
quill1822
1822 R. Nares Gloss. (at cited word) Quill, the fold of a ruff, or ruffle, which were plaited and quilled; probably from the folds being about the size and shape of a goose-quill.
a1828 The Gardener xi, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1890) IV. vii. 213 The lily white to be your smock..And the jelly-flower to be your quill.
1871 L. Colange Zell's Pop. Encycl. II. 699/2 Quill, something formed like a quill, as the plait of a ruffle.
9. † a. The hollow steel mandrel of a lathe used for engraving seals, into which cutting tools are fitted, the whole being rotated by means of a pulley. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1853 C. Tomlinson Cycl. Useful Arts (1854) II. 594/1 The quill is of steel, about 2 inches long and ½ inch in diameter.
b. A hollow sleeve within which a shaft rotates; esp. (a) one rotating on bearings which is used to transmit the drive from a motor to a concentrically mounted axle, allowing a small amount of relative motion between the motor and the axle; (b) one used to press down a rotating tool, as a drill bit, etc., the tool being attached to a spindle rotating on bearings within the sleeve.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > quill
quill shaft1887
quill1904
quill drive1911
1904 Amer. Inventor 1 June 247/3 In the Westinghouse turbine there are many rows of blades or vanes, and each moving row mounted upon a central steel quill..has its complementary row of stationary blades.
1910 Engineering 12 Aug. 246/3 A gearless concentric motor for each driving-axle is mounted on a quill flexibly connected to the driving-wheels.
1930 Engineering 6 June 722/1 Two new types of drive had been developed... The first consisted of a geared quill surrounding the driving axle and carrying two crankpins, the latter being connected by a flexible linkage to two crankpins on the driving wheels.
1975 G. Bram & C. Downs Manuf. Technol. vii. 208 The spindle rotates in the quill to provide the rotary motion for cutting tools.
1984 E. P. DeGarmo et al. Materials & Processes in Manuf. (ed. 6) xxi. 604 The spindle rotates on ball bearings within a nonrotating quill that can be moved up and down in the machine head to provide feed to the drill.
1986 H. I. Andrews Railway Traction xi. 256 Amongst the earliest form of such drives was the ‘Westinghouse drive’, in which a frame-mounted motor drove a ‘quill’, or hollow shaft surrounding the axle with adequate clearance, through gearing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > billiards, pool, or snooker > [noun] > actions or types of play > type of stroke
hazard1674
carambole1775
carom1779
cannon1802
screw1825
sidestroke1834
following stroke1837
cannonade1844
five-stroke1847
follow1850
scratch1850
fluke1857
jenny1857
bank shot1859
angle shot1860
draw shot1860
six-stroke1861
run-through1862
spot1868
quill1869
dead-stroke1873
loser1873
push1873
push stroke1873
stab1873
stab screw1873
draw1881
force1881
plant1884
anchor cannon1893
massé1901
angle1902
cradle-cannon1907
pot1907
jump shot1909
carry-along1913
snooker1924
1869 J. Roberts & H. Buck Roberts on Billiards 136 The Quill stroke, a losing hazard made into the lower or middle pockets from a ball partially overhanging the baulk-line.
1896 R. D. Walker in W. Broadfoot et al. Billiards (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) xi. 370 The so-called quill or feather stroke, which was tabooed years and years ago.
1901 Q. Rev. Apr. 483 What was known as the feather stroke or the ‘quill’ Mardon considered extremely serviceable.
Phrases
colloquial (chiefly North American) the pure (also true, genuine, etc.) quill: the genuine article, the real thing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [noun] > a genuine thing or person
the (real, true, etc.) Simon Pure1776
(the) genuine article1794
(the) clean potato1822
the real McCoy1848
the pure (also true, genuine, etc.) quill1854
to deliver the goods1870
the McCoy1931
straight arrow1969
1854 Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gaz. 21 Aug. Pure liquors–for Medicinal purposes, which are warranted free from all adulterations, and none sold at our establishment but the pure quill.
1884 C. B. Lewis Sawed-off Sketches 23 There's hairs of six different colors sticking in the splinters, and those blood stains are the pure quill.
1917 Dial. Notes 4 327 That tobacco is the pure quill.
1951 Lowell (Mass.) Sun 23 June 6/2 If you want the genuine quill, the true, the real shrunken human head, you have to look long, make connections, and flush out your wallet.
1981 W. Gibson Burning Chrome (1986) 42 ‘It's good,’ said Kihn, polishing his yellow Polaroid shooting glasses on the hem of his Hawaiian shirt, ‘but it's not mental; lacks the true quill.’
1991 L. Niven et al. Fallen Angels 21 Not Fandom. I was reading the true quill long before I knew about Fandom and cons and such.
Compounds
C1. General attributive, objective, and similative.
a. (In sense 3b.)
quill boy n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > winding > winding on spool or bobbin > spool or bobbin > one who works with or attends to
quill boy?1711
quill winder1738
bobbin-boy1871
bobbin-turner1886
?1711 Answer to Paper of Reflexions on Project for Laying Duty on Eng. Wrought Silks 1 Great Advantages will be reap'd by the Weavers, because there will be employed..some thousads of Winders, Warpers,..Quill-boys, Loom-makers, and several others depending on the same trade.
1771 J. W. Baker Addr. to Representatives of People 10 I shall suppose only one third of them men, one third women, and the remaining third young lads and girls employed as quill-boys, spinners, &c. which make up our 27,000 manufacturers.
1920 A. P. Usher Introd. Industr. Hist. Eng. ix. 223 The force of weavers and quill boys is apparently excessive.
1949 Dict. Occup. Titles (ed. 2) II. 1055/2 Quill Boy (textile)... Quill collector, quill man. A laborer. Removes empty quills from quill boxes at looms and transports them in hand trucks to spinning department where they are refilled.
quill machine n.
ΚΠ
1842 Penny Mag. Nov. 471/2 The quill-machines..have a considerable number of quills ranged in a row, and made to rotate rapidly.
1867 Times 18 July 16/1 (advt.) Mr. Frank Lewis will sell by auction..a 42-spindle quill machine.
1999 Re: Taking a Hack or Two in alt.machines.cnc (Usenet newsgroup) 27 June When Monarch dropped their quill machine, they began to crawl out of the hole they had dug for themselves.
quill winder n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > winding > winding on spool or bobbin > spool or bobbin > one who works with or attends to
quill boy?1711
quill winder1738
bobbin-boy1871
bobbin-turner1886
1738 J. Munn Observ. Brit. Wool 13 (table) Quill-winder.
1864 Times 6 May 9/6 An official investigation into the circumstances connected with the death of Mary Ann Anflied, the wife of a quill winder.
1910 L. Hooper Hand-loom Weaving i. viii. 123 The quill-winder is a very important adjunct to the loom, as good winding is very necessary for successful weaving.
2005 Herald News (Passaic County, New Jersey) (Nexis) 22 Mar. b5 Mrs. Barbarow was a quill winder in the silk industry before retiring.
b. (In sense 1a, 1b.)† quill employment n. Obsolete† quill gun n. Obsolete† quill-timber n. Obsolete† quill-vendor n. Obsolete
quill-barrel n.
ΚΠ
1771 T. S. Kuckahn in Philos. Trans. 1770 (Royal Soc.) 60 314 An incision just big enough to introduce the end of a quill-barrel.
1812 R. Southey in Q. Rev. 8 351 What quantity of quill-barrel ought to be allowed for a clerk's daily consumption.
1985 Amer. Jrnl. Educ. 93 254 The quill barrels were hardened by dipping them in a solution of alum or nitric acid.
quill case n.
ΚΠ
1795 J. Woodforde Diary 28 Mar. (1929) IV. 186 Mr. Thorne..applied a Caustic to it just touching the part with it with a small kind of very fine hair pencil in a Quill-Case.
1906 Oxford (Oxford Junction, Iowa) Mirror 25 Oct. It was while workmen were engaged in destroying the cabin built in 1838..that they found an ink horn, quill case and musty old pocketbook.
1986 Zeitschr. f. Kunstgeschichte 49 305/1 The unexpected element in the scene is the Apostle in white, wearing an ink well and quill case on his belt, who stands to offer Judas a glass of wine.
quill cleaner n.
ΚΠ
1966 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 30 Jan. cm21/1 He [sc. a gentleman] needed a sharp penknife with which to cut a quill pen from a goose feather, a quill cleaner filled with small lead shot, and liquid ink.
1988 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 18 May Sometimes the quill cleaner and ink were in the same container, the ink kept within a glass liner and the lead shot in an exterior cavity.
quill dealer n.
ΚΠ
1786 Lowndes's London Directory (ed. 25) 165 Smith Samuel, stationer & quill dealer.
1850 Harper's Mag. Oct. 678/1 The better quills will still be collected, and find their way to the quill dealer, who will exercise his empirical arts before they pass to the stationer.
1985 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 18 Dec. a31/5 The interface achieved yesterday, alas, was not the triumph it seemed when I called in the quill dealer for celebratory champagne.
quill-dresser n.
ΚΠ
1792 N.-Y. Directory 138 Turner, Francis, quill-dresser, 99, Fair-street.
?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 156/1 Quill Dresser.
1935 Charleroi (Pa.) Mail 18 Jan. 10/3 The quill-dresser of modern London still handles the undressed quill, bakes it, and points it, as his predecessors did in the Eighteenth century.
2001 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 7 Dec. 13 He married Sarana Baruh, born in 1840 in Liverpool, where her father Benjamin was recorded as a quill-dresser (pen-maker).
ΚΠ
1765 Ann. Reg. 1764 Antiquities 171/2 The most ancient grant of nobility in France to a quill employment was to the King's secretaries.
quill end n.
ΚΠ
1706 R. Howlett Anglers Sure Guide i. 9 Draw it on a very small Quill, the Feathers stript clean off, and a little of the hard Quill-end cut off.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 454 Into this the quill end of the feather must be plunged.
1923 Man 23 116 The principle of lapping the quill ends over a band..is the one which distinguishes the technique of American quillwork from that of other peoples.
1992 J. Curtis Sons of Morning 250 The dun's handler plucked a tail feather and held down at the quill-end against a neck wound to staunch the blood.
ΚΠ
1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale (Douce 170) (1888) i. iv. 37 What quill-gvn bownces dares shee not let flye?
1884 Daily Kennebec Jrnl. (Augusta, Maine) 15 Nov. Master Clervie Winter while out hunting Tuesday morning shot a fox with a quill gun and a partridge charge; he is but thirteen years old.
quill man n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writer > [noun] > professional writer
writereOE
bookerOE
markerOE
scrivein?1208
scrivener1218
scrieverc1425
pen-clerk?c1430
scribe1435
scrivan1511
penman1552
scrivano1581
feather-driver1593
scriptora1600
Khoja1625
quill man1648
conicopoly1680
quill-driver1700
escrivain1744
sirkar1828
penworker1876
1648 J. Lane Alarum to Poets l. 334 If yee deigne this scandall to remove, Your fame 'bove prose-arts quill-men, all will rove.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 19. ⁋2 Small Quill-men and Transcribing Clerks.
1830 W. Scott Ayrshire Trag. i. i Quintin the quillman, Quintin the comptroller.
1908 Edwardsville (Illinois) Intelligencer 23 Feb. She turns off as much In a week, so I hear, As a quill man of old Could have penned in a year.
1961 Fresno (Calif.) Bee 24 Dec. b7/4 (headline) Ball Point Pens Ruffle Feathers of Quill Man.
quill merchant n.
ΚΠ
1795 W. Butler Arithm. Questions (ed. 2) 178 Suppose a quill merchant should buy 20,000 quills at 3s. a thousand; paying 1s. 6d. a thousand for having them dutched; and 4s. 6d. a thousand for their being converted into pens, [etc.]?
1870 S. R. Wells How to Read Char. iv. 71 Although only the daughter of a quill merchant, she spoke her native language with extraordinary purity.
1990 Independent (Nexis) 18 Aug. 44 The last quill merchant ceased trading only in 1954, expunged at last by the steel nib and the fountain pen.
2008 S. Selfors Saving Juliet xxii. 199 Verona's only quill merchant had never heard of William Shakespeare.
quill nib n.
ΚΠ
1820 Times 25 Aug. 4/1 The ‘Penographic, or Writing Instrument’,..is so constructed that either a metallic or quill nib may be applied.
1993 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. 22 This is a hard tree resin from Morocco which, when rubbed into the parchment, gives a slight tooth. The quill nib produces a crisper line as a result.
quill pen n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > writing instrument > [noun] > pen > quill pen
featherc1000
swan-pen1426
goose-quill1552
quill1552
goose-pena1616
pen1653
quill pen1725
crow-quill1740
twill1825
swan-quill1839
1725 S. Wyld Pract. Surveyor ii. §v. 50 If you draw the Bounders from Point to Point with a Quill-Pen with your Hand only, they will be more naturally express'd, than if you lay a strait Ruler from Point to Point.
1819 Times 14 July 1/5 Quill pens cut to any pattern.
1993 A. Higgins Lions of Grunewald xxiv. 145 He wrote steadily with a scratchy quill pen cut from the tail feathers of a cock pheasant.
quill plectrum n.
ΚΠ
1883 Musical Times & Singing Class Circular 24 490/2 (advt.) Rare old harpsichord... Has three rows of quill plectra (some missing).
1904 Musical Times 45 634/2 Virginal... Two strings, one plucked by a quill plectrum, the other by a leather jack.
1997 Guardian (Nexis) 24 Mar. 16 He was among the first to produce harpsichords and clavichords based on their 18th-century counterparts—lighter instruments with quill plectrums—feeling that heavy 1950s' harpsichords could not properly reproduce early music.
quill-shaped adj.
ΚΠ
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. 181 In that of Saturnia Io, on each segment there are six bundles of longish,quill-shaped, sharp, slender, diverging spines.
1899 C. MacMillan Minnesota Plant Life xxxvii. 397 One variety of lobelia..has hollow, quill-shaped submerged leaves.
1994 Minnesota Monthly Feb. 28/2 The Gorgonzola version combines the blue cheese with walnuts, parsley, and pepper flakes over quill-shaped penne for a hearty, filling course.
ΚΠ
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine iii. 419 They conceive this third Temple..never had other then paper-wals, inke-mortar, and quil-timber.
ΚΠ
1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 324 The quill-venders have found their occupation to fall off.
c. (In sense 4.)† quill-darting adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1634 W. Wood New Englands Prospect vi. 19 Quill darting Porcupines, and Rackcoones.
1741 Mem. Martinus Scriblerus xiv. 46 in A. Pope Wks. II The quill-darting Porcupine.
C2. † quill-covert n. Obsolete each of the coverts of the quill feathers of a bird.† quill-jack n. Music Obsolete rare. (in early keyboard instruments) a jack (Jack n.2 8) to which a quill is attached (see sense 1c).† quill tool n. Obsolete rare a fine paintbrush having the hairs fixed in a piece of quill.† quill-turn n. Weaving and Spinning Obsolete a mechanism for turning a quill (see sense 3b) or for winding thread on to it.
quillback n. (a) any of various deep-bodied North American freshwater suckerfish of the genus Carpiodes (family Catostomidae), esp. Carpiodes cyprinus which has the first ray of the dorsal fin greatly elongated; (b) (in full quillback rockfish) an orange and dark brown to black scorpaenid fish, Sebastes maliger, of the Pacific coast of North America, having the rays of the dorsal fin elongated.
ΚΠ
1876 D. S. Jordan Man. Vertebr. Northern U.S. 297 C[arpiodes] velifer... Spear fish. Sail fish. Quillback.
1921 Sci. Monthly July 89 Species peculiar to rivers—spoonbill, redhorses, quillbacks, sand sturgeon, etc.
1947 Copeia No. 3. 196 (title) Records of the mooneye (Hiodon tergisus) and the quill-back sucker (Carpiodes cyprinus) from Saskatchewan.
1960 List Common & Sci. Names Fishes U.S. & Canada (Amer. Fisheries Soc. Special Publ. No. 2) (ed. 2) 37 Quillback rockfish... Sebastodes maliger (Jordan and Gilbert).
1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 21 Mar. 2/3 I have taken in recent years, six species of rockfish: copper, quillback [etc.].
1992 Jrnl. Freshwater Ecol. 7 219 Quillback, gizzard shad, shorthead redhorse, and channel catfish were more abundant in the upstream portion during early summer.
quill bark n. now rare cinchona bark in the form of quills as opposed to flat pieces (cf. sense 6).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > non-British medicinal trees or shrubs > cinchona tree or bark
Peruvian bark1663
quinquina1681
Jesuits' Bark1704
quinaquina1708
quinquina1740
cinchona1742
quill bark1742
grey bark1781
red bark1782
bark-tree1783
yellow bark1794
cinchona-bark1811
crown bark1823
Loxa bark1825
Suriname bark1844
Lima bark1855
quinine tree1855
1742 G. Cheyne Nat. Method cureing Dis. iii. v. 264 Chewing Quill Bark in a Morning, and a few Grains of Rhubarb at Night, will totally cure Consumptions.
1880 C. R. Markham Peruvian Bark 72 The root-shoots had scarcely grown to a sufficient size to yield anything but quill bark.
1913 Indianapolis Star 7 Feb. 5/4 (advt.) Quill Bark toilet soap.
1999 A.-H. Maehle Drugs on Trial iv. 275 He thought the new cinchona bark was more certain, and curative in smaller doses, than the conventional sort; and it rarely caused gripes, which had been a common problem with the quill bark.
quill-bit n. now rare a hollow drill bit used for boring into wood, the sawdust being collected inside the shaft.
ΚΠ
1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 539 Fig. 452 is known as the shell-bit, and also as the gouge-bit, or quill-bit, it is sharpened at the end like a gouge, and when revolved it shears the fibres round the margin of the hole and removes the wood almost as a solid core.
1854 C. Tomlinson Cycl. Useful Arts (1862) I. 91/2 The shell-bit,..also called the gouge-bit and quill-bit.
1929 H. C. Mercer Anc. Carpenters' Tools 207 (caption) The ‘gouge’ bit, also called ‘quill bit’, or ‘shell bit’, an open-sided cylinder, sharpened like a carpenter's gouge, but not spooned at the base.
1956 C. Aldred in C. Singer et al. Hist. Technol. II. vii. 231 Other scoop-drills like the modern quill-bit or spoon-bit come from Roman sites.
ΚΠ
1827 Edinb. New Philos. Jrnl. 3 262 The quills and large tail-feathers, as well as the first row of superior and inferior quill coverts, are in most cases perfectly simple.
1890 Cent. Dict. Quill-coverts, feathers immediately covering the bases of the large feathers of the wings or tail of a bird.
quill drive n. (the apparatus for) the transmission of power from a motor by means of a quill (sense 9b).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > quill
quill shaft1887
quill1904
quill drive1911
1911 S. Sheldon & E. Hausmann Electr. Traction Index 306/1 Quill drive.
1927 R. E. Dickinson Electr. Trains vi. 111 There are several other forms of suspension; e.g. the quill drive in which the motor-armature is on a hollow ‘quill’ inside which is the axle of the wheel.
1977 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 67 vii. 13/1 The novel feature of the B. and O. locomotives was a method of transmitting the armature torque to the axle without gears by means of what later came to be called a quill drive.
quill feather n. any of the main wing and tail feathers (remiges and rectrices) of a bird.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > wing or wings > feather(s) on > primary feather(s)
flags1486
pinion feather1486
pinion1545
pen-feather1602
quill feather1678
remexa1705
flight1735
flight-feather1735
primary1776
rower1835
remicle1887
pen plume1899
the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > tail > feather(s) of > used for steering
quill feather1678
rectrix1813
rudder1884
steerer1895
1678 J. Ray in tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. Pref. sig. a2v By the flag-feathers, or beam-feathers, or quil-feathers, or prime feathers, or sails of the Wing, we mean those of the first Row.
1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. ii. 71 The quil-feathers are dusky, barred with red.
1854 R. Owen Struct. Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature I. 223 The ulna is often impressed by the insertions of the great quill-feathers of the wing.
1997 P. Cozzens Darkest Days of War xviii. 212 At the first Rebel volley a bullet cut the cord holding Old Abe to his perch. Another clipped his wing, carrying away three quill feathers.
quill float n. = sense 1d.
ΚΠ
1714 Whole Art of Fishing vi. 43 A Carp..is generally caught at Mid-Water; use a long Rod, and a Quill Float, keeping out of Sight.
1858 C. F. Briggs & A. Maverick Story of Telegraph iv. 90 The end of this cord would be attached to immense buoys, shaped like the quill-float of the angler's line, and provided with reflectors, so as to be easily seen.
1904 Westm. Gaz. 19 Nov. 3/1 On the bank..men and boys..are fishing with quill-floats and dough-bait, the least artistic form of sport.
2002 Derbyshire Times 19 Dec. 58/3 For long trotting on rivers these quill floats were, and still are, very efficient.
quill gnat n. Angling (now rare) an artificial fly having a body made from the quill of a feather.In quot. 1867: an insect on which this fly is based, perhaps an olive (olive n.1 11a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > real or imitation flies
stone-flya1450
ant-fly1653
hawthorn-fly1653
mayfly1653
oak fly1653
wall-fly1653
pismire-fly1670
cow-lady1676
mayfly1676
owl fly1676
brown1681
cow-turd-fly1684
trout-fly1746
orl fly1747
hazel fly?1758
iron-blue fly?1758
red spinner?1758
Welshman's button?1758
buzz1760
Yellow Sally1766
ash-fly1787
black caterpillar1787
cow-dung fly1787
sharn-fly1787
spinner1787
woodcock-fly1787
huzzard1799
knop-fly1799
mackerel1799
watchet1799
iron blue1826
knob fly1829
mackerel fly1829
March brown1837
cinnamon fly1867
quill gnat1867
sedge-fly1867
cob-fly1870
woodcock wing1888
sedge1889
olive1895
quill1899
nymph1910
green weenie1977
Montana1987
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling vi. 189 The Quill Gnat..makes its appearance late in April.
1891 Field 7 Mar. 342/2 In a disused fly-book..reposes a small collection of quill gnats.
1907 Daily Chron. 16 Nov. 3/2 The most beautiful of cock-winged quill gnats pass unheeded by the trout.
1964 G. Ferris Trout are Rising i. x. 61 The Black Quill Gnat is another excellent fly and is a true representative of a variety which is prolific in its hatch.
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1872 New Englander (New Haven, Connecticut) Oct. 696 The substitution of leather-covered hammers to strike the strings for the crow-quill jacks..has brought under the hand of the artist a far richer treasure of mellifluous and varying tones.]
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1691/1 The substitution of quill-jacks for the hammer.
quill pig n. North American regional (chiefly northern) a porcupine.
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1856 Putnam's Monthly Mag. Sept. 254/2 One or two halts among the cranberry bushes, on which his hedgehogship (quill-pig is the vernacular) was browsing, and..we stepped over the edge of Katahdin.
1943 Portsmouth (New Hampsh.) Herald 28 May 10/1 The quill pig bounty has been jumped from 20 cents a head to 50 cents a head... There should be a chance to control porcupines now.
1998 M. Collins & J. Collins Riding Wild Side of Denali xi. 184 The quill pig had lashed his stickery tail against Comet's loose jowls.
quill shaft n. = sense 9b.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > quill
quill shaft1887
quill1904
quill drive1911
1887 U.S. Patent 356,867 1/2 The shaft..being connected with the main shaft B by means of miter-gears..and an intermediate quill-shaft.
1949 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 53 143/1 As originally designed the gear was a compound epicyclic gear, the sun gear of which was driven by a quill shaft from the front end of the compressor.
2005 Rec. (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.) (Nexis) 25 Nov. f1 By the ingenuous use of a concentric shaft-within-a-shaft, called a quill shaft, to send the power forward, the driveline was kept low enough that the car's profile was similar to a regular front-driver.
quill-tail n. U.S. regional (now rare) (in full quill-tail coot) the ruddy duck, Oxyura jamaicensis.
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1888 G. Trumbull Names & Portraits Birds 112 Ruddy Duck of Wilson 1814... At Tuckerton N.J., [called] Quill-tail coot.
1890 Cent. Dict. Quilltail, the ruddy duck, Erismatura rubida. Also called quilltail coot. (New Jersey).
1953 S. G. Jewett et al. Birds Washington State 151 Oxyura jamaicensis rubida... Other names: Wire-tail; Quill-tail.
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1859 G. A. Sala Gaslight & Daylight ii. 23 Another is fluting columns with a thin brush called a ‘quill tool’.
quill toothpick n. a toothpick made from a quill.Originally made from the quill of a feather; later, in the U.S., more usually from a porcupine quill.
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the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning or cleanliness of the person > [noun] > cleaning the teeth > implements for
picker1481
toothpick1488
picktooth1542
tooth-picker1545
tooth-scrape1552
pick1562
tooth-rake1585
tooth-scraper1585
teeth-brush1651
dentiscalp1656
toothbrush1690
quill toothpick1775
quill1785
chew-stick1858
tooth-stick1859
dental silk1907
dental floss1922
floss1936
airbrasive1945
Water Pik1962
water toothpick1965
1775 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 65 125 Stirring it gently with a quill tooth-pick.
1888 G. W. Cable Bonaventure 154 I never use a quill toothpick.
a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) iii. 83 Inevitably dressed in blue serge, a quill tooth-pick behind his ear, a Grand Army button in his lapel.
1953 Amer. Q. Winter 315 Keeping his hands in his pockets King quickly thrust out a thumb in lieu of a concealed derringer, and snapped an invisible quill toothpick as though cocking the hammer for action.
1990 Independent (Nexis) 6 Sept. 26 I have tended to adopt one or two slight affectations to make me stand out from the crowd, one of which is to use genuine quill toothpicks, common enough on the Continent, but rare in Britain.
quill-tube n. (a) = sense 5; (b) = sense 2a.
ΚΠ
1831 T. O'Scanlan Diccionario Marítimo Español at Tubes Quill tubes, estopines de lata.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Quill-tubes, those in use with port-fires for firing guns before the introduction of detonating and friction tubes.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 234 Squib, a straw, rush, paper, or quill tube filled with a priming of gunpowder,..and ignited by means of a smift.
1933 S. W. Cole Pract. Physiol. Chem. (ed. 9) ix. 210 Transfer a drop or two of the digesting mixture to one of the tubes containing the diluted iodine by means of a quill tube.
1960 F. G. Mann & B. C. Saunders Pract. Org. Chem. (ed. 4) i. 28 The capillary tube E..should never be prepared by drawing out an ordinary glass ‘quill’ tube, otherwise the fine capillary so obtained will be too fragile.
1987 R. J. Wilkinson-Latham Discovering Artillery (ed. 2) vi. 64 The detonating quill tube, introduced in about 1845, was designed to supersede both the gun lock and the linstock.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > winding > winding on spool or bobbin > wheel for
pirn wheel1536
quill-turn1564
quill wheel1762
1564 Inventory in J. Noake Worcs. Relics (1877) 13 In the weaving shoppe ij pare of shuttels, a swiste and a knave to the quiltourne.
1647 in M. Cash Devon Inventories 16th & 17th Cent. (Devon & Cornwall Record Soc. New Ser. 11) (1966) 95 1 paire of Loombes, warpinge pynns a quill Torne & a spyninge Torne.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Quill-turn, the hand-wheel and spindle upon which the bobbin or quill is wound for the weaver's use.
quill wheel n. = quill-turn n.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > winding > winding on spool or bobbin > wheel for
pirn wheel1536
quill-turn1564
quill wheel1762
1762 J. Long Golden Fleece 40 To Baskets, Weights and Scales, Slays, Harnesses, Quill Wheels, &c.
1805 Times 12 Jan. 3/3 They found the child lying dead on the floor,..a quill-wheel a little beyond her, the clock of which was marked with blood.
1937 R. D. Hyatt Marthy Lou's Kiverlid 114 Git yer quill-wheel out an' fetch out the windin' blades an' be a windin' some of yer quills.
2001 L. Ulrich Age of Homespun ii. 92 In one scene a woman spins wool on a walking wheel while another uses a ‘quill wheel’ and ‘swift’ much like those in the garrison.
quillwort n. any of various chiefly aquatic, flowerless vascular plants constituting the cosmopolitan genus Isoetes, so called from their long cylindrical leaves; esp. the European plant I. lacustris, which grows at the bottom of lakes and is also called Merlin's grass.
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the world > plants > particular plants > ferns > [noun] > quill-wort
quillwort1762
Merlin's grass1828
isoetes1886
1762 W. Hudson Flora Anglica 393 Isoetis... Anglis, Quillwort.
1882 Amer. Naturalist 16 506 The grass-like or rush-like plants commonly designated as the quillworts, and included in the genus Isoëtes,..belonging to the great group of plants lying next below the Phanerogams.
1945 A. B. Jackson Step's Wayside & Woodland Ferns (new. ed.) 137 Guernsey Quillwort. Isoetes hystrix... The only stations for it are in the islands of Guernsey and Alderney, where it occurs on sandy or stony ground that is only occasionally inundated; and in Cornwall.
2004 W. B. Maynard Walden Pond x. 287 Winkler's study found that various aquatic Isoetes, or quillwort, plants had dramatically declined since swimming and bank erosion began pouring sediments into the pond.
Derivatives
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1891 I. Zangwill Bachelor's Club 69 I was recognised in quilldom as..brilliant.
ˈquill-less adj. without a quill or quills.
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1879 J. Burroughs Locusts & Wild Honey 128 A dog..will manœuvre round the porcupine till he..fastens on his quill-less underbody.
2002 Jrnl. Amer. Musicol. Soc. 55 75 The composer's right hand is quill-less.
ˈquill-like adj.
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1684 T. Gibson Anat. Humane Bodies (ed. 2) v. viii. 469 He says, it is hid within a quill-like cavity formed in the os petrosum almost at the bottom of the barrel, from whence it takes its rise.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxx. 408 The cheeks and lips are completely masked by the heavy quill-like bristles.
1989 Independent (Nexis) 25 Nov. 41 Taylor's pens are extraordinary; some almost quill-like, others in distressed metal finishes, leather and carved wood.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† quilln.2
Obsolete.
1. = coil n.3 1. rare.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun] > series of or form consisting of > of rope
quill1588
1588 Book of Charges July (Dom. St. Papers, P.R.O.) CCXV. 88 A Quille of ropes wayeing xxvli.
2. in the (or a) quill: in a body; in concert; together. to jump in quill: to act simultaneously or in harmony.
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society > society and the community > social relations > co-operation > [adverb]
mutually1531
shoulder to shouldera1586
in the (or a) quilla1616
in consort1634
concurrently1648
in harness1873
collectively1902
collaboratively1971
in tandem1974
society > society and the community > social relations > co-operation > co-operate [verb (intransitive)]
conjoin1532
conspirea1538
concurc1550
co-operate1604
coadjute1612
coacta1616
to jump in quilla1616
co-operate1616
co-opere1663
to pull together1772
rally1792
to row in1861
collaborate1871
to play ball (with)1903
to play along1929
play1937
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > in/into one place, company, or mass [phrase] > together or in a body > specifically of people or animals
as one mana1382
in (also on, upon, etc.) a routa1387
in blanda1400
in sorta1400
on a sorta1550
at one1591
in the (or a) quilla1616
in uniform1623
in hand1883
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) i. iii. 3 Let's stand close..and then wee may deliuer our Supplications in the Quill . View more context for this quotation
1687 Honour of Taylors x. 18 Nor..did they less jump in quill; for just as he was debating this matter with himself, they came down to him, and besought him that he would dismiss them.
c1690 in Roxburghe Ballads II. 136 Thus those Females were all in a Quill, and following on their Pastime still.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) i. ii. §78 70 So strangely did Papist and Fanatic, or..the Anticourt Party, p—s in a Quill; agreeing in all Things that tended to create Troubles and Disturbances.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
quillv.
/kwɪl/, U.S. /kwɪl/ 1. transitive. To form (fabric) into narrow, rounded folds or pleats; esp. to gather and set (a piece of lace) into the form of a ruff. Cf. goffer v. Also figurative. Now rare.
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the world > space > relative position > folding or folded condition > fold [verb (transitive)] > arrange in folds or pleat
cremil1377
pinchc1387
pleatc1390
plaitc1400
plighta1425
ridelc1450
pranka1529
plat?1533
surfle1573
quill1607
twill1847
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice vi. ix. 56 He shall haue garthes of all sortes, those for..hunting or running of woollen webbe, strongly quilled and ioyned to the lightest and sinest buckles.
1682 T. Shadwell Lancashire-witches ii. 18 [I] have..quill'd thy Cuffs and startch'd thy Band my self.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 478. ⁋12 It might have been as expensive in queen Elisabeth's time only to wash and quill a ruff.
1760 O. Goldsmith in Brit. Mag. Feb. 78/2 His cravat seemed quilled into a ruff.
1823 M. Clarke Benevolent Lawyers i. 19 What is there more ridiculous..than four or five rows of lace or muslin quilled round a lady's neck.
1865 Art Jrnl. No. 321. 91/2 ‘Quilled’ her frills as usual.
1887 A. J. Wilson At Mercy of Tiberius I. 10 Chrysanthemums that quill their laces over russet robes of Autumn.
1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 267/2 Quill,..one of rounded folds or ridges in a ruffle; to flute or fold in such ridges.
ΚΠ
1711 J. Swift Let. 24 Feb. (1768) IV. 248 As for Patrick's bird..His wings have been quilled thrice, and are now up again.
3. transitive. To write (a piece of text), esp. with a quill. Cf. pen v.2 2. Chiefly colloquial.
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society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)]
awriteeOE
writeOE
speak?c1225
paintc1400
conscribec1487
blecka1500
cipher1565
letter1570
characterize1581
character1589
bewrite1660
scriven1680
quill1768
screeve1851
1768 J. Cremer Jrnl. 27 Jan. in R. Bellany Ramblin' Jack (1936) 32 Quilled at last in a great Cabin.
1890 J. Coghill Poems, Songs, & Sonnets 67 This screed whilk he's juist new dune quillin'.
1945 J. Dickson in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. 309/3 For each and a' the cheque's been quilled Wi' nae successors.
1977 Evening Standard 18 July 13/2 In 1677..Henry Vaughan quilled the immortal lines [etc.].
2006 Star Phoenix (Saskatoon, Sask.) (Nexis) 24 Mar. c3 Shakespeare didn't see this one coming when he quilled Twelfth Night.
4.
a. transitive. Music. To fit (a harpsichord, etc.) with quills or plectra. Cf. quill n.1 1c.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > making or fitting instruments > accessories [verb (transitive)] > quill harpsichord
quill1774
1774 Rivington's N.Y. Gaz. 14 Apr. 1/4 (advt.) He likewise teaches vocal and instrumental music; strings, quills, and tunes harpsicords, spinnets, claricords, and hand or barrel-organs.
1789 T. Jefferson Memorandum Bks. 15 May (1997) I. 733 P[ai]d for tuning & quilling the harpsichord.
1938 Oxf. Compan. Music 415/1 Francis Hopkinson..introduced new methods both of tuning and of quilling harpsichords.
1978 Early Music 6 76 (advt.) Easy-to-follow Instructions on how to quill a harpsichord properly with feathers.
1990 Gramophone May 1932/2 Haydn approved payment to the organ builder for quilling and tuning the harpsicord.
b. transitive. To cover (a person or thing) with spikes, spears, etc., as with quills. Cf. quill n.1 4. Usually in passive.
ΚΠ
1783 ‘P. Pindar’ More Lyric Odes to Royal Academicians vii. 17 Thou'rt like a hedgehog quill'd..By the dire shafts of merc'less ridicule.
1814 R. Southey Roderick xvii. 213 His whole body had been gored with wounds, And quill'd with spears.
a1938 R. Jeffers Coll. Poetry (1989) 73 Their throats full of barbed seeds..and the gums about their teeth Were quilled with the wicked spikes.
1962 W. Stegner Wolf Willow ii. v. 69 They lay out there..scalped and mutilated and quilled with arrows.
5. intransitive. To wind thread or yarn on to a quill. Cf. quill n.1 3b. In later use English regional (south-western). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (intransitive)] > wind
reelc1400
spool1603
to wind up1631
quill1825
1825 A. Knapp & W. Baldwin Newgate Cal. III. 377/1 Quilling, i.e. putting silk on a shuttle.
1845 S. Judd Margaret i. ii. 6 The child Margaret sits..with a small wheel, winding spools, in our vernacular ‘quilling’.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Quill, to wind the yarn from the hank or skein on to a bobbin, called a quill, for the weaver's shuttle.
6. transitive. U.S. To blow (the whistle of a steam locomotive), esp. in a musical or distinctive manner. Also intransitive. Cf. quill n.1 3d. Now historical.
ΚΠ
1939 Reader's Digest Dec. 55 There never was a man who could quill a whistle like old Casey Jones.
1953 Daily Times-News (Burlington, N. Carolina) 12 Mar. c1/1 Engineer Luther quickly gained the regulation speed... I heard him ‘quilling’ on the whistle cord for grade crossings.
1960 P. Oliver Blues fell this Morning 64 On the Illinois Central..firemen would send a rudimentary blues wailing across the Delta by ‘quilling’ on the whistles.
2002 Trains Apr. 70 (headline) Quilling the whistle.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1?a1425
n.21588
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