n. & v.
n. 1 a bed-covering made of padding enclosed between layers of cloth etc. and kept in place by cross lines of stitching. 2 a bedspread of similar design (patchwork quilt).
v.tr. 1 cover or line with padded material. 2 make or join together (pieces of cloth with padding between) after the manner of a quilt. 3 sew up (a coin, letter, etc.) between two layers of a garment etc. 4 compile (a literary work) out of extracts or borrowed ideas. quilter n. quilting n.
[ ME f. OF coilte, cuilte f. L culcita mattress, cushion ]