squill
squill Lexical Profile
squill Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Any of various bulbous perennial flowering plants of the genus Scilla or related genera in the family Asparagaceae, native to Europe, Africa, and Asia, cultivated for their clusters of small, star-shaped or bell-shaped blue, purple, pink, or white spring blossoms.
"Carpets of blue squills bloomed beneath the deciduous trees in early spring."
The dried sliced bulb of the sea onion (Drimia maritima), containing cardiac glycosides and formerly used in medicine as an expectorant, diuretic, and emetic, as well as in rat poison.
"The nineteenth-century apothecary stocked syrup of squills to treat chronic coughs and bronchitis."
Any predatory marine crustacean of the order Stomatopoda (specifically the genus Squilla), more commonly known as a mantis shrimp, characterized by powerful raptorial forelimbs used to strike prey.
• Rhymes for squill
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via Old French esquille from Latin squilla (a variant of scilla), which comes from Ancient Greek skilla, denoting both the sea onion and the mantis shrimp.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.