squill

[ skwil ]

noun

1. the bulb of the sea onion, Urginea maritima, of the lily family, cut into thin slices and dried, and used in medicine chiefly as an expectorant.
2. the plant itself.
3. any related plant of the genus Scilla.

squill

/ skwɪl /

noun

1. See sea squill
2. the bulb of the sea squill, formerly used medicinally as an expectorant after being sliced and dried
3. any Old World liliaceous plant of the genus Scilla , such as S. verna ( spring squill ) of Europe, having small blue or purple flowers

Other Words From

• squill-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of squill¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin squilla, variant of scilla < Greek skílla

Word History and Origins

Origin of squill¹

C14: from Latin squilla sea onion, from Greek skilla , of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Visitors can track down flowers throughout the year, like crocus and squill, which bloom in March.

From New York Times

On Instagram, friends share colorful, exuberant, almost psychedelic pictures of turmeric-orange poppies in Berkeley, Calif., of cotton-candy ornamental cherry trees in Portland, Ore., of bluish-purple Siberian squill in upstate New York.

From New York Times

This will ask them to find a list of potion-worthy species, like squill, cinnamon, ginger and monkshood, in the conservatory, where an alchemy table will also offer demonstrations of plant-based chemistry.

From New York Times

Its lawn, awash in tiny blue squills, ends where new condominium construction begins.

From Washington Post

One of the boatmen told me yesterday that in the Spring large masses of the vernal squill are to be found upon the hills near here.

From Project Gutenberg