[quail] n, pl quail or quails [ME quaille, fr. MF, fr. ML quaccula, of imit. origin] (14c): any of numerous small gallinaceous birds: as a: an Old World migratory game bird (Coturnix coturnix) b: bobwhite
[2]quail vb [ME, fr. MD quelen] vi (15c) 1 a chiefly dial: wither, decline b: to give way: falter "his courage never ~ed"
2: to recoil in dread or terror: cower "the strongest ~ before financial ruin --Samuel Butler d.1902" ~ vt, archaic: to make fearful syn see recoil