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Gill

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25 dictionary results for: Gill

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

gill1

[gil] Pronunciation Key

–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

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

gill2

[jil] Pronunciation Key

–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

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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gill3

[gil] Pronunciation Key

–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

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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gill4

[jil] Pronunciation Key

–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

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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gill5

[gil] Pronunciation Key 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 gill¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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Gill

[gil for 1; jil for 2] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a male given name.

2.	a female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

gill¹ (gĭl) Pronunciation Key
n.

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.
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.

To catch (fish) in a gill net.
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.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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gill² (jĭl) Pronunciation Key
n. Abbr. gi or gi.

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).
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.]

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gill³ (gĭl) Pronunciation Key
n. Chiefly British

A ravine.
A narrow stream.

[Middle English gille, from Old Norse gil.]

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gill⁴ also jill or Gill (jĭl) Pronunciation Key
n. A girl, often one's sweetheart.

[Middle English gille, from Gille, a woman's name.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
gill (1)

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

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Gill

fem. proper name, see Jill.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

gill
noun
1.	a British imperial capacity unit (liquid or dry) equal to 5 fluid ounces or 142.066 cubic centimeters
2.	a United States liquid unit equal to 4 fluid ounces
3.	any of the radiating leaflike spore-producing structures on the underside of the cap of a mushroom or similar fungus
4.	respiratory organ of aquatic animals that breathe oxygen dissolved in water

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

gill (gĭl) Pronunciation Key

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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.
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 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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

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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Gill, CO Zip code(s): 80624

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Gill

Gal"lon\, n. [OF galon, jalon, LL. galo, galona, fr. galum a liquid measure; cf. F. jale large bowl. Cf. Gill a measure.] A measure of capacity, containing four quarts; -- used, for the most part, in liquid measure, but sometimes in dry measure.

Note: The standart gallon of the Unites States contains 231 cubic inches, or 8.3389 pounds avoirdupois of distilled water at its maximum density, and with the barometer at 30 inches. This is almost exactly equivalent to a cylinder of seven inches in diameter and six inches in height, and is the same as the old English wine gallon. The beer gallon, now little used in the United States, contains 282 cubic inches. The English imperial gallon contains 10 pounds avoirdupois of distilled water at 62? of Fahrenheit, and barometer at 30 inches, equal to 277.274 cubic inches.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Gill

Ghyll\, n. A ravine. See Gill a woody glen. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] --Wordsworth.

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Gill

Gill\, n. [Dan. gi[ae]lle, gelle; akin to Sw. g["a]l, Icel. gj["o]lnar gills; cf. AS. geagl, geahl, jaw.]

1. (Anat.) An organ for aquatic respiration; a branchia.

Fishes perform respiration under water by the gills. --Ray.

Note: 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. (Zo["o]l.) 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.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Gill

Gill\, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A two-wheeled frame for transporting timber. [Prov. Eng.]

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Gill

Gill\, n. A leech. [Also gell.] [Scot.] --Jameison.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Gill

Gill\, n. [Icel. gil.] A woody glen; a narrow valley containing a stream. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]