| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024quail1 /kweɪl/USA pronunciation n. [countable], pl. quails, (esp. when thought of as a group) quail. - Birdsa small, plump bird of the pheasant family.
quail2 /kweɪl/USA pronunciation v. [no object]- to lose courage;
shrink back in fear:quailed at the thought of the danger ahead.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024quail1 (kwāl),USA pronunciation n., pl. quails, ( [esp. collectively]) quail. - Birdsa small, migratory, gallinaceous game bird, Coturnix coturnix, of the Old World.
- Birdsany of several other birds of the genus Coturnix and allied genera.
- Birdsany of various New World gallinaceous game birds of the genus Colinus and allied genera, esp. the bobwhite.
- Sex and Gender[Slang.]a woman or girl.
- Gmc; compare Dutch kwakkel quail, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German quackele; akin to quack1
- Old French
- Middle English quaille 1300–50
- to lose heart or courage in difficulty or danger;
shrink with fear.
- Middle Dutch quelen, queilen
- late Middle English 1400–50
recoil, flinch, blench, cower. See wince.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: quail /kweɪl/ n ( pl quails, quail)- any small Old World gallinaceous game bird of the genus Coturnix and related genera, having a rounded body and small tail: family Phasianidae (pheasants)
Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French quaille, from Medieval Latin quaccula, probably of imitative origin quail /kweɪl/ vb - (intransitive) to shrink back with fear; cower
Etymology: 15th Century: perhaps from Old French quailler, from Latin coāgulāre to curdle |