QUILL
Dictionary entry overview: What does quill mean?
• QUILL (noun)
The noun QUILL has 4 senses:
1. pen made from a bird's feather
2. a stiff hollow protective spine on a porcupine or hedgehog
3. any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird
4. the hollow spine of a feather
Familiarity information: QUILL used as a noun is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• QUILL (noun)
Meaning:
Pen made from a bird's feather
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Synonyms:
quill; quill pen
Hypernyms ("quill" is a kind of...):
pen (a writing implement with a point from which ink flows)
Meaning:
A stiff hollow protective spine on a porcupine or hedgehog
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Hypernyms ("quill" is a kind of...):
spine (a sharp rigid animal process or appendage; as a porcupine quill or a ridge on a bone or a ray of a fish fin)
Holonyms ("quill" is a part of...):
Erinaceus europaeus; Erinaceus europeaeus; hedgehog (small nocturnal Old World mammal covered with both hair and protective spines)
hedgehog; porcupine (relatively large rodents with sharp erectile bristles mingled with the fur)
Meaning:
Any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Synonyms:
flight feather; quill feather; pinion; quill
Hypernyms ("quill" is a kind of...):
feather; plumage; plume (the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "quill"):
primary; primary feather; primary quill (one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird's wing)
tail feather (feather growing from the tail (uropygium) of a bird)
Holonyms ("quill" is a part of...):
wing (a movable organ for flying (one of a pair))
Meaning:
The hollow spine of a feather
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Synonyms:
quill; calamus; shaft
Hypernyms ("quill" is a kind of...):
rib (a riblike supporting or strengthening part of an animal or plant)
Holonyms ("quill" is a part of...):
feather; plumage; plume (the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds)
