quail

quail ¹  (kwl)

n. pl. quail or quails

1. Any of various Old World chickenlike birds of the genus Coturnix, especially C. coturnix, small in size and having mottled brown plumage and a short tail.

2. Any of various similar or related New World birds, such as the bobwhite.

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[Middle English quaille, from Old French, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *coacula, of imitative origin.]

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quail ²  (kwl)

intr.v. quailed, quail·ing, quails

To shrink back in fear; cower.

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[Middle English quailen, to give way, probably from Middle Dutch quelen, to suffer, be ill; see g^wel- in Indo-European roots.]

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quail¹

n pl quails, quail

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any small Old World gallinaceous game bird of the genus Coturnix and related genera, having a rounded body and small tail: family Phasianidae (pheasants)

2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any of various similar and related American birds, such as the bobwhite

[from Old French quaille, from Medieval Latin quaccula, probably of imitative origin]

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quail²

vb

(intr) to shrink back with fear; cower

[perhaps from Old French quailler, from Latin coāgulāre to curdle]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	quail - flesh of quail; suitable for roasting or broiling if young; otherwise must be braised quail - small gallinaceous game birds game bird - any bird (as grouse or pheasant) that is hunted for sport wildfowl - flesh of any of a number of wild game birds suitable for food
	2.	quail - small gallinaceous game birds phasianid - a kind of game bird in the family Phasianidae bobwhite, bobwhite quail, partridge - a popular North American game bird; named for its call Old World quail - small game bird with a rounded body and small tail California quail, Lofortyx californicus - plump chunky bird of coastal California and Oregon quail - flesh of quail; suitable for roasting or broiling if young; otherwise must be braised bevy - a flock of birds (especially when gathered close together on the ground); "we were visited at breakfast by a bevy of excited ducks"
Verb	1.	quail - draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf" cringe, flinch, funk, recoil, wince, shrink, squinch move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" shrink back, retract - pull away from a source of disgust or fear

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quail¹

verb shrink, cringe, flinch, shake, faint, tremble, quake, shudder, falter, droop, blanch, recoil, cower, blench, have cold feet (informal) The very word makes many of us quail.

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quail²

noun (collective noun) bevy

Translations

quail¹ [kweɪl] N (quail or quails (pl)) (= bird) → codorniz f

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quail² [kweɪl] VI (= cower) → temblar (at ante) her heart quailed → se le encogió el corazón

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quail [ˈkweɪl]

n (= bird) → caille f

vi (= feel afraid) → trembler
to quail at sth → trembler à qch
I quailed at the prospect of confronting him head-on → Je tremblais à l'idée de l'affronter directement.

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quail¹

vi → (vor Angst) zittern or beben (→ before vor +dat)

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quail²

n (Orn) → Wachtel f; quails’ eggs → Wachteleier pl

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quail¹ [kweɪl] n (bird) → quaglia

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quail² [kweɪl] vi (flinch) to quail at or before → perdersi d'animo davanti a

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quail

v quail [kweil]

to draw back in fear; to shudder The little boy quailed at the teacher's angry voice. terugdeins, sidder سُماني، سَلْوى свивам се třást se, couvat vige tilbage verzagen δειλιάζω, τρέμω από φόβο acobardarse, amedrentarse vabisema جا خوردن؛ خود را باختن vapista reculer (devant) שְׂלָיו हिम्मत हारना ustuknuti borzad gemetar guggna, hörfa undan tremare ひるむ 움츠리다 krūptelėti drebēt (aiz bailēm) berasa kecut terugschrikken vike tilbake; skjelve av skrekk wzdrygnąć/cofnąć się (ze strachu) encolher-se a tremura (în faţa) трусить triasť sa ustrašiti se ustuknuti bäva, skälva เสียขวัญ korkup geri çekilmek, sinmek 畏縮，發抖 похитнутися; спасувати خوف زدہ ہونا run sợ 畏缩，胆怯

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quail → طائر السِمَّان křepelka vagtel Wachtel ορτύκι codorniz viiriäinen caille prepelica quaglia ウズラ 메추라기 kwartel vaktel przepiórka codorna, codorniz перепел vaktel นกกระทา bıldırcın chim cút 鹌鹑