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Nill vs Gill - What's the difference?

nill | gill |

As nouns the difference between nill and gill

is that nill is shining sparks thrown off from melted brass while gill is (soccer) someone connected with , as a fan, player, coach etc.

As a verb nill

is to be unwilling; will not (+ infinitive ).

As a proper noun gill is

.

nill

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) nillen, from (etyl) nillan, nellan, . Cognate with (etyl) nelle.

Verb

  • To be unwilling; will not (+ infinitive ).
  • *1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queen) , III.v:
  • *:I here auow thee neuer to forsake. / Ill weares he armes, that nill them vse for Ladies sake.
  • *1600 , (Edward Fairfax), The (Jerusalem Delivered) of (w), XII, lxi:
  • *:What I nill tell you ask (quoth she) in vain, / Nor mov'd by prayer, nor constrain'd by power.
  • To be unwilling.
  • *:
  • *:So the knight of Ireland armed him at all points,, and rode after a great pace, as much as his horse might go; and within a little space on a mountain he had a sight of Balin, and with a loud voice he cried, Abide, knight, for ye shall abide whether ye will or nill , and the shield that is to-fore you shall not help.
  • *:• :
  • *::Soo the knyght of Irelonde armed hym at al poyntes /and rode after a grete paas as moche as his hors myght goo / and within a lytel space on a montayne he had a syghte of Balyn / and with a lowde voys he cryed abyde knyght / for ye shal abyde whether ye will or nyll / and the sheld that is to fore you shalle not helpe
  • *1955 , , (The Lord of the Rings) (Appendices):
  • *:I must indeed abide the Doom of Men, whether I will or I nill .
  • To reject, refuse, negate.
  • *1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queen) , II.vii:
  • *:Certes (said he) I n’ill thine offred grace, / Ne to be made so happy do intend.
    • Derived terms
    * willy-nilly

    Etymology 2

    Compare Irish and Gaelic (neul) star, light. Compare (nebula).

    Noun

  • Shining sparks thrown off from melted brass.
  • Scales of hot iron from the forge.
    • (Knight)
    English auxiliary verbs

    gill

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (animal anatomy) A breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals.
  • * Ray
    • Fishes perform respiration under water by the gills .
  • (of a fish) A gill slit or gill cover.
    • Gill nets are designed to catch a fish by the gills .
  • (mycology) One of the radial folds on the underside of the cap of a mushroom, on the surface of which the spore-producing organs are borne.
  • (animal anatomy) The fleshy flap that hangs below the beak of a fowl; a wattle.
  • (figuratively) The flesh under or about the chin; a wattle.
    • (Jonathan Swift)
  • (spinning) One of the combs of closely ranged steel pins which divide the ribbons of flax fiber or wool into fewer parallel filaments.
    • Synonyms
    * (mycology) lamella
    Derived terms
    * green about the gills * to the gills
    See also
    * lung

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To remove the gills from a fish as part of gutting and cleaning it.
  • * 2014 , Scott Tippett, Polaris (ISBN 1304268179), page 99:
    • She gutted and gilled the fish, then scaled it.
  • (lb) To catch (a fish) in a gillnet.
  • * 1898 , Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor , page 255:
    • Owing to the peculiar shape of the pompano and the relatively large mesh in the pompano gill nets, the fish are not caught by being actually gilled .
  • * 1971 , Michael Culley, ?G. A. Kerkut, The Pilchard: Biology and Exploitation (ISBN 1483186784), page 70:
    • In cases of very heavy catches the nets may be hauled and stored with the fish still gilled . The fish would then be shaken out on return to the port.
  • * 1994 , G.D. Pickett, ?M.G. Pawson, Sea Bass: Biology (ISBN 0412400901), page 177:
    • The intention is to gill the fish, so they are usually scared into the net by rowing one boat into the middle of the net circle and banging the oars on the boat bottom or splashing the water.
  • (lb) To be or become entangled in a gillnet.
  • * 2010 , Edward A. Perrine, Midnight Tracy (ISBN 0557472334), page 147:
    • Also, when fish gilled there wasn't as much extra twine to tangle in, so they were easier to release from the net.
    Quotations
    * 1948 , Oliver Hazard Perry Rodman, The Saltwater Fisherman's Favorite Four , page 166: *: As we had fish home in the icebox, when Bill led the fish up alongside, I leaned over the combing, gilled the fish with my fingers, slid out the hook and let go. The bass lay there for a moment, tired from the arch of the rod and the pull of the line.
    References
    * Walter Koelz, Fishing industry of the Great Lakes (1926), page 556: Since the fine threads of the net usually are caught under the gill covers of the fish they are said to be "gilled."

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A drink measure for spirits and wine. Size varies regionally but it is about one quarter of a pint.
  • (archaic, British) A measuring jug holding a quarter or half a pint.

    • Etymology 3

    From (etyl)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (British) rivulet
  • (British) ravine

    • Etymology 4

    Etymology uncertain.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A two-wheeled frame for transporting timber.

    • Etymology 5

    Alternative forms

    * gill

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (Scotland) A leech.
    • (Jamieson)
    ----