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quail
I. \ˈkwāl, esp before pause or consonant -āəl\ noun
(plural quail or quails)
Etymology: Middle English quaile, quaille, from Middle French quaille, from Medieval Latin quaccula, of imitative origin
1.
a.
(1) : a migratory gallinaceous game bird (Coturnix coturnix syn. C. communis) of Europe, Asia, and Africa that is about seven inches long and has the upper parts brown and black marked with buff, the throat black and white, the breast reddish buff, and the belly whitish
(2) : any of various other birds of the genus Coturnix chiefly inhabiting eastern Asia, southern Africa, India, or Australia
b. : any of various small American game birds of the order Galliformes: as
(1) : bobwhite
(2) : any of various birds related to the bobwhite — often used in combination
< California quail >
< mountain quail >
< valley quail >
— see massena quail
c. : button quail
2.
a. obsolete : courtesan
b. slang : a young woman or girl; specifically : one attending a coeducational institution
3. : hair brown
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English quailen, from Middle French quailler, from Latin coagulare — more at coagulate
intransitive verb
1. dialect chiefly England : curdle, coagulate
2. chiefly dialect
a. : to waste away : wither, decline
< length of time causeth man and beast to quail — Thomas Howell >
b. : to break down : give way : wither
< the religion … quailing into abject superstition — H.H.Milman >
3. : to lose courage : become cowed or fearful : weaken
< eminent men invariably quailed before her — Bertrand Russell >
< no wonder his enemies quailed — Stringfellow Barr >
< the strongest quail before financial ruin — Samuel Butler †1902 >
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to affect harmfully : spoil, waste, wither
2. archaic : to make fearful : cow, daunt
< as thunder quails the inferior creatures — John Wilson †1854 >
Synonyms: see recoil
III.
dialect England
variant of coil |