I. quail 1 /kweɪl/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: quaille , from Medieval Latin quaccula ]
a small fat bird with a short tail that is hunted for food or sport, or the meat from this bird
II. quail 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: quail 'to curdle' (15-19 centuries) , from Latin coagulare ; ⇨ ↑ coagulate ]
literary to be afraid and show it by shaking a little bit or moving back slightly SYN shrink
quail at
She quailed visibly at the sight of the prison walls.