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GILL

 - 17 dictionary results

gill

1  [gil]
Use GILL in a Sentence
–noun
1. the respiratory organ of aquatic animals, as fish, that breathe oxygen dissolved in water.
2. Also called lamella. one of the radiating vertical plates on the underside of the cap of an agaric mushroom.
3. ground ivy.
–verb (used with object)
4. to gut or clean (fish).
—Idioms
5. to catch (fish) by the gills in a gill net.
6. green or white around the gills, somewhat pale, as from being sickly, nervous, or frightened: When he heard how much the bill was, he looked a little green around the gills.
7. to the gills, Informal. fully; completely; totally: After that big meal we were all stuffed to the gills.
Origin:
1300–50; ME gile < Scand; cf. ON gjǫlnar < *gelnō; c. Swed gäl, Dan gælle, Norw gjelle gill

Related forms:
gill-less, adjective
gill-like, adjective

gill

2  [jil]
–noun
a unit of liquid measure equal to 1/4 pint (118.2937 ml).
Origin:
1225–75; ME gille < OF: vat, tub < LL gello, gillo water pot

gill

3  [gil]
–noun British.
1. a deep rocky cleft or wooded ravine forming the course of a stream.
2. a stream; brook; rivulet.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME gille < ON gil

gill

4  [jil]
–noun
a girl or young woman; sweetheart.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME gil(le) generic use of Gil(le), short form of Gillian; see Gillian

gill

5  [gil] Textiles.
–noun
1. a faller used in the combing process, generally for only the highest-quality fibers.
–verb (used with object)
2. to comb (fibers) with a gill.
Origin:
1830–40; perh. special use of gill 1

Gill

  [gil for 1; jil for 2]
–noun
1. a male given name.
2. a female given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gill 1   (gĭl)   
n.  

  1. Zoology The respiratory organ of most aquatic animals that breathe water to obtain oxygen, consisting of a filamentous structure of vascular membranes across which dissolved gases are exchanged.

    1. The wattle of a bird. Often used in the plural.

    2. gills Informal The area around the chin and neck.

  3. Botany One of the thin, platelike structures on the underside of the cap of a mushroom or similar fungus.

v.   gilled, gill·ing, gills

v.   tr.

  1. To catch (fish) in a gill net.

  2. To gut or clean (fish).

v.   intr.
To become entangled in a gill net. Used of fish.

[Middle English gile, of Scandinavian origin.]
gilled adj.
gill 2   (jĭl)   
n.   Abbr. gi or gi.

  1. A unit of volume or capacity in the U.S. Customary System, used in liquid measure, equal to 1/4 of a pint or four ounces (118 milliliters).

  2. A unit of volume or capacity, used in dry and liquid measure, equal to 1/4 of a British Imperial pint (142 milliliters). See Table at measurement.


[Middle English gille, from Old French, wine measure, from Late Latin gillō, vessel for cooling liquids.]
gill 3   (gĭl)   
n.   Chiefly British

  1. A ravine.

  2. A narrow stream.


[Middle English gille, from Old Norse gil.]
gill 4 also jill or Gill   (jĭl)   
n.  A girl, often one's sweetheart.

[Middle English gille, from Gille, a woman's name.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

gill  (1)
"organ of breathing in fishes," c.1300, from O.N. giolnar "gills;" O.Dan. -gæln (in fiske-gæln "fish gill").

gill  (2)
"liquid measure" (commonly a half-pint), 1275, from O.Fr. gille "a wine measure," from M.L. gillo "earthenware jar," of uncertain origin.

Gill 
fem. proper name, see Jill.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1gill
Pronunciation: 'jil
Function: noun
: either of two units of capacity: a : a British unit equal to1/4 imperial pint or 8.669 cubic inches b : a U.S. liquid unit equal to 1/4 U.S. liquid pint or 7.218 cubic inches

Main Entry: 2gill
Pronunciation: 'gil
Function: noun
1 : an organ (as of a fish) for obtaining oxygen from water
2 : one of the radiating plates forming the undersurface of the cap of a mushroom —gilled /'gild/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Science Dictionary
gill   (gĭl)  Pronunciation Key 


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  1. The organ that enables most aquatic animals to take dissolved oxygen from the water. It consists of a series of membranes that have many small blood vessels. Oxygen passes into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide passes out of it as water flows across the membranes.

  2. One of the thin strips of tissue on the underside of the cap of many species of basidiomycete fungi. Gills produce the spore-bearing structures known as basidia.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

gill

in biology, type of respiratory organ found in many aquatic animals, including a number of worms, nearly all mollusks and crustaceans, some insect larvae, all fishes, and a few amphibians. The gill consists of branched or feathery tissue richly supplied with blood vessels, especially near the gill surface, facilitating the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide with the surrounding water. The gills may be enclosed in cavities, through which the water is often forcibly pumped, or they may project from the body into the water.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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