His cravat seemed quilled into a ruff. --Goldsmith.
2. To wind on a quill, as thread or yarn. --Judd.
2. A pen for writing made by sharpening and splitting the
point or nib of the stock of a feather; as, history is the
proper subject of his quill. --Sir H. Wotton.
3. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A spine of the hedgehog or porcupine.
(b) The pen of a squid. See {Pen}.
4. (Mus.)
(a) The plectrum with which musicians strike the strings
of certain instruments.
(b) The tube of a musical instrument.
He touched the tender stops of various quills.
--Milton.
5. Something having the form of a quill; as:
(a) The fold or plain of a ruff.
(b) (Weaving) A spindle, or spool, as of reed or wood,
upon which the thread for the woof is wound in a
shuttle.
(c) (Mach.) A hollow spindle.
{Quill bit}, a bit for boring resembling the half of a reed
split lengthways and having its end sharpened like a
gouge.
{Quill driver}, one who works with a pen; a writer; a clerk.
[Jocose]
{Quill nib}, a small quill pen made to be used with a holder.
--Simmonds.