Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Gill
Gill
(gĭl)
, Noun.
[Dan.
giælle
, gelle
; akin to Sw. gäl
, Icel. gjölnar
gills; cf. AS. geagl
, geahl
, jaw.] 1.
(Anat.)
An organ for aquatic respiration; a branchia.
Fishes perform respiration under water by the
gills
. Ray.
☞ Gills are usually lamellar or filamentous appendages, through which the blood circulates, and in which it is exposed to the action of the air contained in the water. In vertebrates they are appendages of the visceral arches on either side of the neck. In invertebrates they occupy various situations.
2.
pl.
(Bot.)
The radiating, gill-shaped plates forming the under surface of a mushroom.
3.
(Zool.)
The fleshy flap that hangs below the beak of a fowl; a wattle.
4.
The flesh under or about the chin.
Swift.
5.
(Spinning)
One of the combs of closely ranged steel pins which divide the ribbons of flax fiber or wool into fewer parallel filaments.
[Prob. so called from F.
aiguilles
, needles. Ure.
] Gill arches
, Gill bars
(Anat.)
Same as
– Branchial arches
. Gill clefts
. (Anat.)
Same as
– Branchial clefts
. See under Branchial
. Gill cover
, Gill lid
See
– Operculum
. Gill frame
, or
Gill head
(Flax Manuf.)
, a spreader; a machine for subjecting flax to the action of gills.
Knight.
– Gill net
, a flat net so suspended in the water that its meshes allow the heads of fish to pass, but catch in the gills when they seek to extricate themselves.
– Gill opening
, or
Gill slit
(Anat.)
, an opening behind and below the head of most fishes, and some amphibians, by which the water from the gills is discharged. In most fishes there is a single opening on each side, but in the sharks and rays there are five, or more, on each side.
– Gill rakes
, or
Gill rakers
(Anat.)
, horny filaments, or progresses, on the inside of the branchial arches of fishes, which help to prevent solid substances from being carried into gill cavities.
Gill
,Noun.
[Etymol. uncertain.]
A two-wheeled frame for transporting timber.
[Prov. Eng.]
Gill
,Noun.
A leech.
[Also
gell
.] [Scot.]
Jameison.
Gill
,Noun.
[Icel.
gil
.] A woody glen; a narrow valley containing a stream.
[Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Gill
,Noun.
A measure of capacity, containing one fourth of a pint.
Gill
,Noun.
[Abbrev. from
Gillian
.] 1.
A young woman; a sweetheart; a flirting or wanton girl.
“Each Jack with his Gill.” B. Jonson.
2.
(Bot.)
The ground ivy (
Nepeta Glechoma
); – called also gill over the ground
, and other like names. 3.
Malt liquor medicated with ground ivy.
Gill ale
. (a)
Ale flavored with ground ivy.
(b)
(Bot.)
Alehoof.
Webster 1828 Edition
Gill
GILL
,Noun.
1.
The organ of respiration in fishes, consisting of a cartilaginous or bony arch, attached to the bones of the head, and furnished on the exterior convex side with a multitude of fleshy leaves, or fringed vascular fibrils, resembling plumes, and of a red color in a healthy state. The water is admitted by the gill-opening, and acts upon the blood as it circulates in the fibrils. Other animals also breathe by gills, as frogs in their tadpole state, lobsters, &c. Fishes perform respiration under water by the gills.
2.
The flap that hangs below the beak of a fowl.3.
The flesh under the chin.4.
In England, a pair of wheels and a frame on which timber is conveyed. [Local.]Definition 2024
Gill
Gill
See also: gill
English
Proper noun
Gill
- A surname.
- A male given name, in modern use often transferred back from the surname.
- (rare) A spelling variant of female given name Jill.
- Ben Jonson
- Each Jack with his Gill.
- Ben Jonson
Etymology 2
From Gillingham.
Noun
Gill (plural Gills)
- (soccer) someone connected with Gillingham Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
gill
gill
See also: Gill
English
An Alpine newt larva showing the gills, which flare just behind the head.
Mushroom gills.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡɪl/
- Rhymes: -ɪl
Noun
gill (plural gills)
- (animal anatomy) A breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals.
- Ray
- Fishes perform respiration under water by the gills.
- Ray
- (of a fish) A gill slit or gill cover.
- Gill nets are designed to catch a fish by the gills.
- (mycology) One of the radial folds on the underside of the cap of a mushroom, on the surface of which the spore-producing organs are borne.
- (animal anatomy) The fleshy flap that hangs below the beak of a fowl; a wattle.
- (figuratively) The flesh under or about the chin; a wattle.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Jonathan Swift to this entry?)
- (spinning) One of the combs of closely ranged steel pins which divide the ribbons of flax fiber or wool into fewer parallel filaments.
Synonyms
- (mycology): lamella
Derived terms
Translations
breathing organ of fish
|
|
gill cover; gill slit
|
mushroom organ
fleshy flap that hangs below the beak of a fowl — see wattle
flesh under or about the chin — see wattle
See also
Verb
gill (third-person singular simple present gills, present participle gilling, simple past and past participle gilled)
- To remove the gills from a fish as part of gutting and cleaning it.
- 2014, Scott Tippett, Polaris (ISBN 1304268179), page 99:
- She gutted and gilled the fish, then scaled it.
- 2014, Scott Tippett, Polaris (ISBN 1304268179), page 99:
- (transitive) To catch (a fish) in a gillnet.
- 1898, Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, page 255:
- Owing to the peculiar shape of the pompano and the relatively large mesh in the pompano gill nets, the fish are not caught by being actually gilled.
- 1971, Michael Culley, G. A. Kerkut, The Pilchard: Biology and Exploitation (ISBN 1483186784), page 70:
- In cases of very heavy catches the nets may be hauled and stored with the fish still gilled. The fish would then be shaken out on return to the port.
- 1994, G.D. Pickett, M.G. Pawson, Sea Bass: Biology (ISBN 0412400901), page 177:
- The intention is to gill the fish, so they are usually scared into the net by rowing one boat into the middle of the net circle and banging the oars on the boat bottom or splashing the water.
- 1898, Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, page 255:
- (intransitive) To be or become entangled in a gillnet.
- 2010, Edward A. Perrine, Midnight Tracy (ISBN 0557472334), page 147:
- Also, when fish gilled there wasn't as much extra twine to tangle in, so they were easier to release from the net.
- 2010, Edward A. Perrine, Midnight Tracy (ISBN 0557472334), page 147:
Quotations
- 1948, Oliver Hazard Perry Rodman, The Saltwater Fisherman's Favorite Four, page 166:
- As we had fish home in the icebox, when Bill led the fish up alongside, I leaned over the combing, gilled the fish with my fingers, slid out the hook and let go. The bass lay there for a moment, tired from the arch of the rod and the pull of the line.
References
- Walter Koelz, Fishing industry of the Great Lakes (1926), page 556: Since the fine threads of the net usually are caught under the gill covers of the fish they are said to be "gilled."
Etymology 2
From Old French gille (“a wine measure”), from Medieval Latin gillo (“earthenware jar”), possibly from Gaulish gallā (“vessel”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dʒɪl/
- Rhymes: -ɪl
- Homophone: Jill
Noun
gill (plural gills)
- A drink measure for spirits and wine. Size varies regionally but it is about one quarter of a pint.
- (archaic, Britain) A measuring jug holding a quarter or half a pint.
Etymology 3
From Middle English gille, from Old Norse gil
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡɪl/
- Rhymes: -ɪl
Noun
gill (plural gills)
Etymology 4
Etymology uncertain.
Noun
gill (plural gills)
- A two-wheeled frame for transporting timber.
Etymology 5
Alternative forms
Noun
gill (plural gills)
Irish
Noun
gill m
- genitive singular of geall (“pledge, security; wager, bet; gage, challenge; palm, prize; supremacy; token, promise; assets”)
Mutation
| Irish mutation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
| gill | ghill | ngill |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | ||