Gill

[A-S. geágl, geáhl, jaw, Sw. gäl, Dan. giälle, gälle, gelle, gill of a fish.]

1Sense 1. (Physiol.) A ciliated organ of respiration, generally in the form of folds or of leaf-like tufts, by means of which the oxygen dissolved in a surrounding fluid is absorbed and combined with the blood, as in the case of fishes, frogs in their tadpole state, lobsters, and other water animals.

Fishes perform respiration under water by the gills. Ray.

2Sense 2. (Bot.) The radiating, gill-shaped plate forming the under surface of a mushroom.

3Sense 3. The flap that hangs below the beak of a fowl or bird. Bacon.

4Sense 4. The flesh on the lower part of the cheeks, or under the chin. Swift.

5Sense 5. A pair of wheels and a frame on which timber is conveyed. [Prov. Eng.]

6Sense 6. [Icel. gil, fissure, cleft.] A woody glen; a place between steep banks, and a rivulet flowing through it; a brook. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

(jĭl), n. [L. Lat. gillo, gello, guillo, flask, O. Fr. gaille, an earthen vessel. Cf. GALLON.] A measure of capacity containing the fourth part of a pint.

n. [From Gillian, a woman’s name.] A young woman; a sportive or wanton girl. “Each Jack with his Gill.” B. Jonson.