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    quail

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    quail
    I
    quail1 /kweɪl/ noun [uncountable and countable]
     Date: 1300-1400
     Language: Old French
     Origin: quaille, from Medieval Latin quaccula
    a small fat bird with a short tail that is hunted for food or sport, or the meat from this bird

    II
    quail2 verb [intransitive]
     Date: 1400-1500
     Origin: quail 'to curdle' (15-19 centuries), from Latin coagulare; ⇨ coagulate
    literary to be afraid and show it by shaking a little bit or moving back slightly
       SYN  shrink
        quail at
        She quailed visibly at the sight of the prison walls.