QUILL

I. noun Etymology: Middle English quil hollow reed, bobbin; akin to Middle High German kil large feather Date: 15th century 1. a. a bobbin, spool, or spindle on which filling yarn is wound, a hollow shaft often surrounding another shaft and used in various mechanical devices, a roll of dried bark , 2. a. the hollow horny shaft of a feather, feather , one of the hollow sharp spines of a porcupine or hedgehog, pen III,3, something made from or resembling the ~ of a feather, a float for a fishing line, II. transitive verb Date: 1783 to pierce with ~s, 2. to wind (thread or yarn) on a ~, to make a series of small rounded ridges in (cloth)