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quail 1 (kwāl)
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n. pl. quail or quails
1. Any of various primarily ground-dwelling birds of the genus Coturnix, especially C. coturnix, small in size and having mottled brown plumage and a short tail. Also called coturnix.
2. Any of various similar or related birds of the Americas, such as the bobwhite or the California quail.
[Middle English quaile, from Anglo-Norman, from Vulgar Latin *quaccula (attested in Medieval Latin as quaccola), of imitative origin.]
(click for a larger image)
quail1
male California quail
Callipepla californica
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
quail 2 (kwāl)
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intr.v. quailed, quail·ing, quails
To shrink back in fear; cower.
[Middle English quailen, to give way, probably from Middle Dutch quelen, to suffer, be ill; see gwelə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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