quill

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun pen made from a bird's feather
  2. noun a stiff hollow protective spine on a porcupine or hedgehog
  3. noun any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird

Etymology

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

quill pen

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