gill
1 Americannoun
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the respiratory organ of aquatic animals, as fish, that breathe oxygen dissolved in water.
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Also called lamella. one of the radiating vertical plates on the underside of the cap of an agaric mushroom.
verb (used with object)
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to gut or clean (fish).
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to catch (fish) by the gills in a gill net.
noun
noun
noun
verb (used with object)
noun
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a male given name.
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a female given name.
noun
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a narrow stream; rivulet
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a wooded ravine
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(capital when part of place name) a deep natural hole in rock; pothole
Gaping Gill
noun
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a unit of liquid measure equal to one quarter of a pint
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dialect half a pint, esp of beer
noun
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archaic a girl or sweetheart
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Also spelt: jill. dialect a female ferret
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an archaic or dialect name for ground ivy
noun
noun
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the respiratory organ in many aquatic animals, consisting of a membrane or outgrowth well supplied with blood vessels. External gills occur in tadpoles, some molluscs, etc; internal gills , within gill slits, occur in most fishes
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any of the radiating leaflike spore-producing structures on the undersurface of the cap of a mushroom
verb
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to catch (fish) or (of fish) to be caught in a gill net
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(tr) to gut (fish)
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The organ that enables most aquatic animals to take dissolved oxygen from the water. It consists of a series of membranes that have many small blood vessels. Oxygen passes into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide passes out of it as water flows across the membranes.
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One of the thin strips of tissue on the underside of the cap of many species of basidiomycete fungi. Gills produce the spore-bearing structures known as basidia.
Other Word Forms
- gill-less adjective
- gill-like adjective
- gilled adjective
Etymology
Origin of gill1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gile, from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse gjǫlnar, from unattested gelnō; cognate with Swedish gäl, Danish gælle, Norwegian gjelle “gill”
Origin of gill2
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English gille, from Old French: “vat, tub,” from Late Latin gello, gillo “water pot”
Origin of gill3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gille, from Old Norse gil
Origin of gill4
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English gil(le) (generic use of Gil(le), short form of Gillian; Gillian
Origin of gill5
First recorded in 1830–40; perhaps special use of gill 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mycologists use dichotomous keys to identify the species of mushroom based on its physical characteristics including the cap, stem, ring and gills.
From Los Angeles Times
I nodded slowly, knowing he was right; staring at the fish as they writhed and gasped, gills straining for water.
From Literature
"Many fossils show soft parts including gills, guts, eyes and even nerves," he added.
From Barron's
On the underside of its cap are white gills and spores.
From Los Angeles Times
Their gill arch system forms a funnel that is widest at the mouth and narrows toward the gullet.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
