quail

quail

lose heart or courage; recoil; flinch; cower: quail in the face of danger

Not to be confused with:

quake – shake or tremble; shudder: quake with fear of the monster

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

quail ¹

 (kwāl)

n. pl. quail or quails

1. Any of various primarily ground-dwelling birds of the genus Coturnix, especially C. coturnix, small in size and having mottled brown plumage and a short tail. Also called coturnix.

2. Any of various similar or related birds of the Americas, such as the bobwhite or the California quail.

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[Middle English quaile, from Anglo-Norman, from Vulgar Latin *quaccula (attested in Medieval Latin as quaccola), of imitative origin.]

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quail ²

 (kwāl)

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^welə- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

quail

(kweɪl)

n, pl quails or quail

1. (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. (Animals) any of various similar and related American birds, such as the bobwhite

[C14: from Old French quaille, from Medieval Latin quaccula, probably of imitative origin]

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quail

(kweɪl)

vb

(intr) to shrink back with fear; cower

[C15: perhaps from Old French quailler, from Latin coāgulāre to curdle]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

quail¹

(kweɪl)

n., pl. quails, (esp. collectively) quail.

1. any of various small, plump New World gallinaceous birds of the subfamily Odontophorinae, of the pheasant family, as the bobwhite.

2. any of various similar Old World gallinaceous birds of the genus Coturnix, esp. C. coturnix, of Eurasia.

[1300–50; Middle English quaille < Old French < Germanic]

quail²

(kweɪl)

v.i.

to lose courage in difficulty or danger; shrink with fear.

[1400–50; < Middle Dutch quelen, queilen]

syn: See wince.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

quail

Past participle: quailed
Gerund: quailing

Imperative

quail

quail

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

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

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

quail

¹

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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quail

²

noun (collective noun) bevy

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

quail

verb

To draw away involuntarily, usually out of fear or disgust:

blench, cringe, flinch, recoil, shrink, shy, start, wince.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

سَمَانِىسُماني، سَلْوى

couvatkřepelkatřást se

vagtel

Wachtelverzagen

ορτύκι

codorniz

viiriäinen

caillereculer

prepelica

borzad

guggna, hörfa undan

quagliasgomentarsi

ウズラ

메추라기

drebēt

kwartel

skjelve av skrekkvaktelvike tilbake

przepiórka

codornacodorniz

перепёлкаперепел

vaktel

นกกระทา

bıldırcınkorkup geri çekilmeksinmek

chim cút

畏缩胆怯鹌鹑

quail

¹ [kweɪl] N (quail or quails (pl)) (= bird) → codorniz f

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quail

² [kweɪl] VI (= cower) → temblar (at ante) her heart quailed → se le encogió el corazón

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

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.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

quail

¹

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

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quail

²

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

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

quail

¹ [kweɪl] n (bird) → quaglia

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quail

² [kweɪl] vi (flinch) to quail at or before → perdersi d'animo davanti a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

quail

(kweil) verb

to draw back in fear; to shudder. The little boy quailed at the teacher's angry voice. terugdeins, sidder سُماني، سَلْوى свивам се encolher-se třást se, couvat verzagen vige tilbage δειλιάζω, τρέμω από φόβο acobardarse, amedrentarse vabisema جا خوردن؛ خود را باختن vapista reculerשליו हिम्मत हारना ustuknuti borzad gemetar guggna, hörfa undan tremare ひるむ 움츠리다 krūptelėti drebēt (aiz bailēm) berasa kecut terugschrikkenvike tilbake; skjelve av skrekk wzdrygnąć/cofnąć się (ze strachu) بڼه (لويه بڼكه)،شهپر،دپروقلم،دشكاڼه غشي 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

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

quail

→ سَمَانِى 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

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009