n.
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle Dutch quelen
Date: 15th century
intransitive verb
1 a chiefly dialect : WITHER , DECLINE b : to give way : FALTER <his courage never quail ed >
2 : to recoil in dread or terror : COWER <the strongest quail before financial ruin ― Samuel Butler † 1902>
transitive verb archaic : to make fearful
synonyms see RECOIL