gill
gill Lexical Profile
gill Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The paired respiratory organ of fishes and some amphibians, by which oxygen is extracted from water flowing over surfaces within or attached to the walls of the pharynx.
"A shark must keep swimming so that water continuously passes over its gills."
One of the vertical, radiating spore-bearing plates on the underside of the cap of a mushroom or similar fungus.
"Mycologists carefully examine the color and attachment of the gills to help identify wild mushrooms."
A unit of liquid measure equal to a quarter of a pint (four fluid ounces in the US, or five fluid ounces in the UK).
"The traditional tavern recipe called for a single gill of rum mixed with spiced cider."
British A deep, narrow, often wooded ravine or mountain stream, especially in northern England.
"The hikers followed the rocky path down into a steep, fern-lined gill."
• verb
To catch fish in a gill net, or to remove the gills and entrails from a caught fish.
"The fishermen spent the early morning hours gilling and cleaning the day's catch on the dock."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Gill' is a heteronym: when referring to the respiratory organ of a fish, a mushroom structure, or a ravine, it is pronounced with a hard 'g' (/ɡɪl/); when referring to the liquid unit of measure equal to a quarter of a pint, it is pronounced with a soft 'g' (/dʒɪl/).
• Rhymes for gill
Word Origin & Etymology
The anatomical sense derives from Middle English 'gile', of Old Norse origin (compare Swedish 'gäl' and Danish 'gjælle'). The unit of liquid measure comes via Old French 'gelle' from Late Latin 'gillo', meaning a cooling vessel or water pot.