quill

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: quell, quilt, quile, squill, quoll, quirl, quil, guill, quilp, yuill, quall

Antonyms: quell, quilt, quile, squill, quoll, quirl, quil, guill, quilp, yuill, quall

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Noun

{{senseid|en|lower shaft}} The [[lower]] [[shaft]] of a [[feather]], specifically the region lacking [[barb]]s.
{{senseid|en|feather pen}} A [[pen]] made from a feather.
{{senseid|en|pen}} {{lb|en|by extension}} Any [[pen]].
{{senseid|en|needle-like structure}} A sharply [[pointed]], [[barbed]], and easily [[detach]]ed [[needle]][[-like]] structure that grows on the skin of a [[porcupine]] or [[hedgehog]] as a [[defense]] against [[predator]]s. {{defdate|from early 17th c.}}
{{senseid|en|bark}} A thin piece of [[bark]], especially of [[cinnamon]] or [[cinchona]], curled up into a [[tube]].
{{senseid|en|squid pen}} {{lb|en|zoology}} The {{l|en|pen|id=cartilage}} of a [[squid]].
{{senseid|en|plectrum}} {{lb|en|music}} The [[plectrum]] with which musicians strike the strings of certain instruments.
{{lb|en|music}} The [[tube]] of a [[musical instrument]].
Something having the form of a quill, such as the [[fold]] or [[plain]] of a [[ruff]], or {{lb|en|weaving}} a [[spindle]], or [[spool]], upon which the [[thread]] for the [[woof]] is wound in a [[shuttle]].
{{senseid|en|quill drive}} {{lb|en|mechanical engineering}} A {{w|quill drive}}, having a [[hollow]] [[shaft]] with another movable shaft inside it.

To [[pierce]] with quills. (Usually in the passive voice, as ''be quilled'' or ''get quilled''.)
{{lb|en|figuratively}} To [[write]].
To form [[fabric]] into [[small]], [[rounded]] folds.
To decorate with [[quillwork]].
{{lb|en|US|and|Canada|especially|Appalachia|and|the Prairies|transitive}} To subject (a woman who is giving birth) to the practice of [[quilling]] (blowing pepper into her nose to induce or hasten labor).

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.