quail

CEFRB2

/kweɪl/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A small bird with a rounded body and short tail.

  2. 02

    verb

    To feel afraid and lose courage.

Examples

  • Chicken eggs are richer in vitamin A than quail eggs.

  • To tell the truth the prospect rather quailed him – wandering about in the gloomy corridors of a nunnery.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To daunt or frighten (someone).

  2. To lose heart or courage; to be daunted or fearful.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To waste away; to fade, to wither.

More examples

In context

  • I prefer quail eggs.

  • But when he meant to quaile and shake the Orbe, / He was as ratling Thunder.

  • Death dvvels vvithin vs, and if gentle Peace / Diſcend not ſoone, our ſorrovves to ſurceaſe, / Latium (alreadie quaild) vvill be deſtroyd.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The brave firefighter did not blank at the sight of the raging flames.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English quaylen, from Middle Dutch queilen, quēlen, from Old Dutch *quelan, from Proto-West Germanic *kwelan, from Proto-Germanic *kwelaną (“to suffer”). Doublet of queal.