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Added 3 October 2026

quill

/kwɪl/ noun

In Latin: calamus First recorded: early 15th century Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about quill at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The lower shaft of a feather, specifically the region lacking barbs.
A pen made from a feather.
Any pen.
He picked up his quill and wrote a poem.

verb

To pierce with quills. (Usually in the passive voice, as be quilled or get quilled.)
To write.
To form fabric into small, rounded folds.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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