noun

quill

KWIL/kwɪl/

A feather shaft used as a writing pen.

The quill rests beside the open inkwell with its cut tip visible.

A single large feather made into a quill pen rests diagonally beside a small open inkwell, with its hollow shaft and cut writing nib clearly visible.

Etymology

Early uses named reeds, cane stalks, and hollow feather shafts; the pen sense developed from using a large feather for writing. The word’s origin remains uncertain.

In context

Koki F137:45

these are feathers taken from the wing of a goose I'm going to make them into a quill pen first of all

Alphabet: The Story of Writing pt. 1 and 2 by Donald Jackson

More examples

She dipped the quill before writing.
Several quills lay on the desk.
The scribe trimmed the quill's point.

Forms

quill · quills

Similar words

pen: Pen is broader than a feather-shaft writing tool.
nib: Nib is the writing tip rather than the complete quill.