gill

gill

gill¹ [gil]

n.

[ME gile, prob. < Anglo-N < or akin to ON gjǫlnar, jaws, gills, older Dan ( fiske) gaeln, Swed gäl < IE base * ghelunā-, jaw > Gr chelynē, lip, jaw]

1. the organ for breathing of most animals that live in water, as fish, lobsters, or clams, consisting of a simple saclike or complex feathery evagination of the body surface, usually richly supplied with blood

2. [pl.]

a) the red flesh hanging below the beak of a fowl; wattle

b) the flesh under and about the chin and lower jaw of a person

3. any of the thin, leaflike, radiating plates on the undersurface of a mushroom, on which the basidiospores are produced

gilled [gild]

adj.

gill² [jil]

n.

[ME gille < OFr, measure for wine < LL gillo, cooling vessel]

a unit of liquid measure, equal to ¹/ ₄ pint or 4 fluid ounces (0.11829375 liquid liter or 118.29375 milliliters): the British and Canadian imperial gill equals 0.1421 liquid liter: abbrev. gi

gill³ [jil]

n.

[contr. of Gillian, proper name < L Juliana, fem. of Julianus: see JULIAN¹]

[also G-] Archaic a girl or woman; esp., a sweetheart

gill⁴ [gil]

n.

[ME gille < ON gil < IE base * ĝheri-, to gape > YAWN, L hiatus] Brit.

1. a wooded ravine or glen

2. a narrow stream; brook