What does "quill" mean?
The lower shaft of a feather, specifically the region lacking barbs.
Quill
/kwɪl/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The lower shaft of a feather, specifically the region lacking barbs.
- Grammar: quill is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: shaft, axis, barb, barbule.
- Useful contrasts: calamus, pencil, stylus.
- Usage evidence: My quill ran out of ink this morning.
How to use "quill"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "quill" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "quill" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "quill" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "quill" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "quill" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "shaft" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The lower shaft of a feather, specifically the region lacking barbs.
- 2 a stiff hollow protective spine on a porcupine or hedgehog wordnet
- 3 A pen made from a feather.
"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."
- 4 the hollow spine of a feather wordnet
- 5 Any pen. broadly
"He picked up his quill and wrote a poem."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird wordnet
- 7 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.
"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: […]"
- 8 pen made from a bird's feather wordnet
- 9 A thin piece of bark, especially of cinnamon or cinchona, curled up into a tube.
- 10 The pen of a squid.
- 11 The plectrum with which musicians strike the strings of certain instruments.
- 12 The tube of a musical instrument.
"He touched the tender stops of various quills."
- 13 Something having the form of a quill, such as the fold or plain of a ruff, or (weaving) a spindle, or spool, upon which the thread for the woof is wound in a shuttle.
"His hair still stood up in punk-rock quills and spikes."
- 14 A quill drive, having a hollow shaft with another movable shaft inside it.
"The motors are attached to the bogie frames so as to be fully springborne, and drive through quills and flexible couplings to the wheels."
Verb
- 1 To pierce with quills. (Usually in the passive voice, as be quilled or get quilled.)
"Coyotes, bears, and mountain lions which occasionally kill porcupines are sometimes quilled."
- 2 To write. figuratively
"Nibs never would have quilled a seriph to sheepskin."
- 3 To form fabric into small, rounded folds.
- 4 To decorate with quillwork.
"Another characteristic of Plains Indians was the fairly strict division between art made and used by men and art made and used by women. Although men and women sometimes cooperated, women usually painted or quilled very balanced, controlled geometric designs on dresses, moccasins, robes, bags, and containers."
- 5 To subject (a woman who is giving birth) to the practice of quilling (blowing pepper into her nose to induce or hasten labor). Canada, US, transitive
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:quill."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Irish.
Example
"My quill ran out of ink this morning."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "quill"?
Common synonyms include: shaft, axis, barb, barbule, barrel, bramble.
How do you use "quill" in a sentence?
My quill ran out of ink this morning.
How do you pronounce "quill"?
Pronounced /kwɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cuill (“descendant of Coll”), a byname from coll (“hazel tree”).