quill

1 of 2

noun

ˈkwil 

1

a(1)

: a bobbin, spool, or spindle on which filling yarn is wound

(2)

: a hollow shaft often surrounding another shaft and used in various mechanical devices

b

: a roll of dried bark

cinnamon quills

2

a(1)

: the hollow horny shaft of a feather see feather illustration

(2)

: feather

especially : one of the large stiff feathers of the wing or tail

b

: one of the hollow sharp spines of a porcupine or hedgehog

c

: pen entry 3 sense 3

3

: something made from or resembling the quill of a feather

especially : a pen for writing

4

: a float for a fishing line

quill

2 of 2

verb

quilled; quilling; quills

transitive verb

1

: to pierce with quills

2

a

: to wind (thread or yarn) on a quill

b

: to make a series of small rounded ridges in (cloth)

Examples of quill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Under normal conditions, the quills lie flat against the body of a porcupine. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026

The dining room table, where the sisters wrote, is strewn with manuscripts, quill pens and tea cups; a bonnet and shawl bedeck a chair in the small kitchen. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 26 June 2026

Verb

While pens, pencils, and quills still work magic on a piece of paper, writing utensils for your bullet journal can be a pain to carry around. — Billy Cadden, Popular Science, 31 Jan. 2020

Then Kekere-Ekun will quill piece by piece using colored paper, ribbons and parts of canvases before it's eventually completed. — CNN, 2 Nov. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English quil hollow reed, bobbin; akin to Middle High German kil large feather

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for quill

• bill
• brill
• chill
• drill
• fil
• fill
• frill
• gill
• grill
• grille
• jill
• kill

Kids Definition

quill

noun

ˈkwil

1

a

: the hollow tubelike part of a feather

b

: one of the large stiff feathers of the wing or tail

2

: one of the hollow sharp spines of a porcupine or hedgehog

3

: a pen made from a feather