shilln.
/ʃɪl/, U.S. /ʃɪl/ slang (chiefly North American).
A decoy or accomplice, esp. one posing as an enthusiastic or successful customer to encourage other buyers, gamblers, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] > decoy
stale1526
barnardc1555
barnacle1591
setter1591
tumbler1602
circling boy1631
moon-curser1673
sweetener1699
stool1825
stool-pigeon1830
bonnet1831
buttoner1839
button1851
steerer1873
plugger1886
shillaber1913
shill1916
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > decoy, etc.
woodpecker1608
puff1722
flasher1731
squib1731
stool-pigeon1830
roper1840
shill1916
stick1926
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > a charlatan, fraudster > [noun] > performing spectators > assistant > in raising prices
setter1699
showman1797
bonnet1831
Funk1842
button1851
shill1916
ampster1941
1916 Editor 2 Dec. 518/2 Shill, copper:—One who leads the others by patronizing a show or game.
1926 Amer. Mercury Dec. 466/1 A wrestler..offered to throw anyone for 500 smacks and a couple of shills accepted his defy.
1935 H. L. Davis Honey in Horn xv. 231 She had often thought of renting him out as a shill for some tent-show evangelist.
1955 T. Sterling Evil of Day xxi. 208 I used to be a shill in a Reno gambling club.
1971 J. H. Gray Red Lights on Prairies vi. 136 The commonest trap was for a shill to haunt Ninth Avenue disguised as a farm hand.
1978 M. Puzo Fools Die ii. 19 As a shill she played with casino money... She was subject not to fate but to the fixed weekly salary she received from the casino.
Draft additions 1993
b. transferred. One who poses as a disinterested advocate of another but is actually of the latter's party; a mouthpiece, a stooge.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > [noun] > one who or that which dissembles
feigner1382
pseudo1402
simular1526
simuler1534
colourer1554
counterfeiter1561
truphane1568
counterfeit1574
put-forth1581
pretender1583
impostor1586
idol1590
would-be1607
phantasm1622
farce1696
imposture1699
Barmecide1713
simulator1835
fraud1850
sham1850
fake1855
swindle1858
shammer1861
make-believe1863
hoax1869
economizer1874
make-believer1884
ringer1896
phoney1902
faker1910
shill1976
1976 Dun's Rev. Apr. 43/3 AEI was always suspect on Capitol Hill and in academic circles as being a shill for the corporate viewpoint.
1976 U.S. News & World Rep. 5 July 12/3 The former California Governor had to be prodded to run for President and ‘has no desire to be a shill for Ford’.
1980 Washington Post 7 Dec. (Business section) 3/2 They take pains to avoid seeming to be shills for their individual industries.
1983 Chicago Sun-Times 12 July 7 Observer? Baloney. Will was no observer. Breslin calls Will a ‘shill’ for the president and he is exactly right.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
shilladj.adv.
/ʃɪl/, U.S. /ʃɪl/ Obsolete exc. dialect.
A. adj.
Sonorous, resonant, shrill.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adjective]
loudc897
shillOE
brightOE
shillinga1225
soundingc1374
ringingc1400
sonore?c1400
resoundingc1425
sonousc1429
resoundable?c1500
soundish1530
high-sounding1560
singing1565
resonant1572
trolling1581
rumbelow1582
sonorous1611
canorous1646
remugient1660
retentive1728
fullish1770
pealing1794
resonating1845
plangent1858
resonatory1880
timbrous1929
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [adjective]
shillOE
brightOE
shrillc1386
sharp1390
keena1400
shirl1418
piercingc1425
acute1504
shrillish1583
shrilly1594
ear-piercinga1616
sonable1623
oxytonous1653
argute1719
snellc1730
chanticleering1786
criard1840
squealing1879
shrilled1880
bird-high1920
bleaty1925
stainless steel1963
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cold weather > [adjective]
coldc950
bremea1300
chillc1540
shill1598
bleaka1616
airsome1863
parky1886
nippy1898
snappy1928
utchy1957
OE Riming Poem 27 Scyl wæs hearpe, hlude hlynede.
c1220 Bestiary 572 Mirie ȝe singeð ðis mere, and haueð manie stefnes, manie and sille.
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 142 Heo song so lude & so scharpe, Ryht so me grulde schille harpe.
c1330 Arth. & Merl. 6069 A schille horn þai gun blawe.
c1386 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 575 Certes, he Iakke Straw, and his meynee Ne made neuere shoutes half so shille.
1486 Bk. St. Albans d iij That thay [the hawk's bells] be sonowre and well sowndyng and shil.
a1513 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen in Poems (1998) I. 54 Berdis schoutit in the schaw with ther schill [c1507 still] notis.
1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 46 So schill in sorrowe was hir sang, that throwe hir voce the roches rang.
1598 F. Meres Palladis Tamia 276 As our breath doth make a shiller sound being sent through the narrow channell of a Trumpet then if it be diffused abroad into the open aire.
1885 W. H. Smith Walks in Weardale (ed. 2) 165 Shill, shrill.
1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorks. Folk-talk 367 Shill, Shilly adj. This word is commonly applied to a high wind... Its meaning..is clearly ‘noisy’, ‘shrill’.
B. adv.
Sonorously, resonantly, shrilly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adverb]
brightOE
shilla1250
shillya1400
sonorously1595
resoundingly1611
canorously1680
resonantly1685
sonoriferously1693
soundingly1697
twangingly1825
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [adverb]
shilla1250
keenlyc1275
shirla1300
bremelya1375
sharp1377
shillya1400
shirlly1470
shrilly1582
whit1833
squeal1849
reedily1910
bleatingly1934
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 1656 Heo..song so schille & so brihte, Þat fur & neor me hit i-herde.
a1300 Leg. Gregory 879 Þe winde blewe schille and loude.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. vii. 46 Prout of my faire fetours and for ich songe shulle.
a1400 St. Alexius (Laud 622) 561 Þonder dyned shille.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 446/1 Schylle, and scharpe, acute, aspere, sonore.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xiv. 2 Ane ȝoung King I hard schoutand schill.
1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 64 The Men..speak ratling in the Throat, and gross; the Women shiller and lower.
1787 R. Burns Poems (new ed.) 322 The westlin wind blaws loud an' shill.
Derivatives
ˈshilly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adverb]
brightOE
shilla1250
shillya1400
sonorously1595
resoundingly1611
canorously1680
resonantly1685
sonoriferously1693
soundingly1697
twangingly1825
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [adverb]
shilla1250
keenlyc1275
shirla1300
bremelya1375
sharp1377
shillya1400
shirlly1470
shrilly1582
whit1833
squeal1849
reedily1910
bleatingly1934
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 929 Þen schrikis schilli [Dublin shilly] all þe schalkis.
ˈshillness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [noun] > resonant quality
fullness1440
shillness1486
sonority1623
resonance1669
sonorousness1669
soundingness1727
sonorosity1772
sonoriety1828
plangency1858
canorousness1870
ringingness1874
1486 Bk. St. Albans d iij Thay [sc. Dutch bells] be..sonowre of Ryngyng in shilnes.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Sonoritas, a shyllenesse, or lowdenesse.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
shillv.1
Obsolete exc. dialect.
intransitive. To resound; to sound loudly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > resound [verb (intransitive)]
singc897
shillc1000
warblea1400
resoundc1425
dun1440
reird1508
rolla1522
rerea1525
peal1593
diapason1608
choir1838
alarm1839
to raise (also lift) the roof1845
whang1854
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 215/15 Crepitat, i. resonat, scylþ, cyrmþ, ræscetteþ.
c1300 K. Horn (Laud) 220 And þoruuth eche toune Horn him shilleþ soune.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 631 Hure strokes fulle so styþ & sare þay schulde so doþ þe þonder.
a1400 Guy Warw. 7286 He grad & ȝelled swiþe loude, Þat it schilled into þe cloude.
1898 R. Blakeborough Wit N. Riding Yorks. 443 Shill v...3. [Of the wind] To make a noise something between a howl and a whistle.
Derivatives
ˈshilling adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adjective]
loudc897
shillOE
brightOE
shillinga1225
soundingc1374
ringingc1400
sonore?c1400
resoundingc1425
sonousc1429
resoundable?c1500
soundish1530
high-sounding1560
singing1565
resonant1572
trolling1581
rumbelow1582
sonorous1611
canorous1646
remugient1660
retentive1728
fullish1770
pealing1794
resonating1845
plangent1858
resonatory1880
timbrous1929
a1225 St. Marher. 19 ‘Cum’, quoð þe culure wið schillinde stefne.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls) VII. 331 He..despisede þe smokynge and schillynge speche of mysbyleved men.
c1400 Siege Jerusalem (1932) 528 A schillande schout.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
shillv.2
/ʃɪl/, U.S. /ʃɪl/ Now dialect.† 1. transitive. To separate. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separate [verb (transitive)]
to-twemec893
sunderOE
asunderOE
shedOE
dealOE
shill1049
skillc1175
to-twinc1175
twinc1230
disseverc1250
depart1297
slita1300
to-throwc1315
parta1325
drevec1325
devisec1330
dividec1374
sever1382
unknit?a1425
divorce1430
separea1450
separate?a1475
untine1496
to put apart1530
discussa1542
deceper1547
disseparate1550
apart1563
unjoint1565
shoal1571
divisionatea1586
single1587
dispart1590
descide1598
disassociate1598
distract1600
dissolve1605
discriminate1615
dissociate1623
discerpa1628
discind1640
dissunder1642
distinguish1648
severize1649
unstring1674
skaila1833
cleave1873
dirempt1885
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separate [verb (transitive)] > separate from main body
skillc1175
to tell outc1325
shillc1440
sequestrate1513
sorta1535
shoal1571
segregate1579
dismember1580
single1582
scatter1588
disgregate1593
recond1608
sepone1619
sequester1625
canton1653
to cantonize outa1670
portion1777
to set off1795
to comb out1854
distinguish1866
split1924
hive off1931
section1960
separate1962
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > uncovering > uncover or remove covering from [verb (transitive)] > strip or make bare > strip of outer layer > strip of skin, husk, or bark > strip of husk or shell
shalea1398
sheelc1440
shillc1440
dehusk1566
unhusk1598
unshell1599
unshale1611
shell1694
1049 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (MS. C) On þyson ylcan geare Eadwerd eing scylode .ix. scypa of male.
c1325 Metr. Hom. 152 Our king, That wic men fra god sal schille.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 446/1 Schyllyn owte, or cullyn owte fro sundyr, segrego.
a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 22 If there bee any sheepe that beginne to ragge..yow are to make the sheapheard shill them out.
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 351 To sever sheep is to shill them.
1790 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. (ed. 2)
2. To curdle (milk). Also intransitive, to become curdled.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dairy produce > [verb (transitive)] > curdle
curd?1440
turn1548
curdle1585
shill1691
whig1835
the world > food and drink > food > dairy produce > [verb (intransitive)] > curdle or become curdled
runeOE
loppera1300
curda1398
to run togethera1398
quaila1425
trout1483
lop1570
turn1577
quar1578
curdle1586
caille1601
to set together1608
set1736
whig1756
shill1876
clabber1880
1691 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words (ed. 2) (at cited word) To Sheal Milk is to curdle it, to separate the parts of it.
1695 W. Kennett Parochial Antiq. Gloss. at Helowe-wall In the North to shel or sheal milk is to curdle it.
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 351 Turning a small quantity of milk into curds and whey is called shilling it.
1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 152 To Sheal or Shill, to sour milk for curds by the usual process.
1876 C. C. Robinson Gloss. Words Dial. Mid-Yorks. Shill, v.a. and v.n. to curdle; to scum.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
shillv.3
/ʃɪl/, U.S. /ʃɪl/ slang (chiefly North American).
1. intransitive. To act as a shill.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > defraud or swindle [verb (intransitive)] > act as accomplice
shill1914
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 75 To ‘shill’ is to act in the capacity of a hired criminal.
1928 Amer. Speech 3 376 Shill, to boost for the auctioneer.
1948 F. Brown Dead Ringer 156 She was going to shill on Walter's wheel.
1956 H. Gold Man who was not with It xxv. 236 It's how to get the audience... I shilled for my wife.
1975 Weekend Mag. (Montreal) 11 Jan. 9 Canadian advertisers are confined mainly to hockey players when they're looking for an athlete to shill for them.
2. transitive. To entice (a person) as a shill; to act as a shill for (a gambling game, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > act as accomplice for
shill1974
1974 R. B. Parker God save Child xxii. 150 Doctor Croft was the one who shilled old Fraser Robinson onto Vicki's scam.
1978 M. Puzo Fools Die x. 96 Diane, the blonde that shills baccarat.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1916adj.adv.OE
v.1c1000v.21049v.31914