quail — a small, short-tailed game bird
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: a small, short-tailed game bird
Pronunciation (IPA): /kweɪl/
Example Sentences
- The tiny quail thought it was a chicken until it met a real rooster.
- Even the bravest soldiers might quail in the face of such danger.
- The chef's specialty was quail eggs, which looked like tiny alien spacecraft on the plate.
quail
NOUN[/kweɪl/]
a small, short-tailed game bird
The young soldier began to quail as the enemy army appeared over the hill.
The quail tells an ancient tale beside the forest trail
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Old French 'quaille', derived from Medieval Latin 'quaccula'. The ultimate origin is uncertain, but may be onomatopoetic, imitating the bird's call.
Breakdown
The word does not have a productive morpheme breakdown in English. It is a simple, inherited noun from Old French that entered Middle English directly as 'quaille' or 'quail'.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The tiny quail thought it was a chicken until it met a real rooster.”
“Even the bravest soldiers might quail in the face of such danger.”
“The chef's specialty was quail eggs, which looked like tiny alien spacecraft on the plate.”
“He didn't quail when his boss asked him to work overtime again.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related
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