Spill (?), n. [√170. Cf.
Spell a splinter.] 1. A bit of wood split
off; a splinter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
2. A slender piece of anything.
Specifically: --
(a) A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a
cask; a spile.
(b) A metallic rod or pin.
(c) A small roll of paper, or slip of wood,
used as a lamplighter, etc.
(d) (Mining) One of the thick laths or
poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a
level in loose ground.
3. A little sum of money. [Obs.]
Ayliffe.
Spill, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Spilt (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Spilling.] To cover or decorate with slender pieces of
wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay. [Obs.] Spenser.
Spill (?), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Spilled (?), or Spilt (&?;); p. pr.
& vb. n. Spilling.] [OE. spillen,sually, to
destroy, AS. spillan, spildan, to destroy; akin to Icel.
spilla to destroy, Sw. spilla to spill, Dan.
spilde,G. & D. spillen to squander, OHG.
spildan.] 1. To destroy; to kill; to put
an end to. [Obs.]
And gave him to the queen, all at her will
To choose whether she would him save or spill.
Chaucer.
Greater glory think [it] to save than
spill.
Spenser.
2. To mar; to injure; to deface; hence, to
destroy by misuse; to waste. [Obs.]
They [the colors] disfigure the stuff and spill
the whole workmanship.
Puttenham.
Spill not the morning, the quintessence of day,
in recreations.
Fuller.
3. To suffer to fall or run out of a vessel;
to lose, or suffer to be scattered; -- applied to fluids and to
substances whose particles are small and loose; as, to spill
water from a pail; to spill quicksilver from a vessel; to
spill powder from a paper; to spill sand or
flour.
&fist; Spill differs from pour in expressing
accidental loss, -- a loss or waste contrary to purpose.
4. To cause to flow out and be lost or wasted;
to shed, or suffer to be shed, as in battle or in manslaughter; as, a
man spills another's blood, or his own blood.
And to revenge his blood so justly
spilt.
Dryden.
5. (Naut.) To relieve a sail from the
pressure of the wind, so that it can be more easily reefed or furled,
or to lessen the strain.
Spilling line (Naut.), a rope used for
spilling, or dislodging, the wind from the belly of a sail.
Totten.
Spill, v. i. 1. To
be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to perish; to
waste. [Obs.]
That thou wilt suffer innocents to
spill.
Chaucer.
2. To be shed; to run over; to fall out, and
be lost or wasted. "He was so topful of himself, that he let it
spill on all the company." I. Watts.
Spill (?), n. [√170. Cf.
Spell a splinter.] 1. A bit of wood split
off; a splinter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
2. A slender piece of anything.
Specifically: --
(a) A peg or pin for plugging a hole, as in a
cask; a spile.
(b) A metallic rod or pin.
(c) A small roll of paper, or slip of wood,
used as a lamplighter, etc.
(d) (Mining) One of the thick laths or
poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a
level in loose ground.
3. A little sum of money. [Obs.]
Ayliffe.
Spill, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Spilt (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Spilling.] To cover or decorate with slender pieces of
wood, metal, ivory, etc.; to inlay. [Obs.] Spenser.
Spill (?), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Spilled (?), or Spilt (&?;); p. pr.
& vb. n. Spilling.] [OE. spillen,sually, to
destroy, AS. spillan, spildan, to destroy; akin to Icel.
spilla to destroy, Sw. spilla to spill, Dan.
spilde,G. & D. spillen to squander, OHG.
spildan.] 1. To destroy; to kill; to put
an end to. [Obs.]
And gave him to the queen, all at her will
To choose whether she would him save or spill.
Chaucer.
Greater glory think [it] to save than
spill.
Spenser.
2. To mar; to injure; to deface; hence, to
destroy by misuse; to waste. [Obs.]
They [the colors] disfigure the stuff and spill
the whole workmanship.
Puttenham.
Spill not the morning, the quintessence of day,
in recreations.
Fuller.
3. To suffer to fall or run out of a vessel;
to lose, or suffer to be scattered; -- applied to fluids and to
substances whose particles are small and loose; as, to spill
water from a pail; to spill quicksilver from a vessel; to
spill powder from a paper; to spill sand or
flour.
&fist; Spill differs from pour in expressing
accidental loss, -- a loss or waste contrary to purpose.
4. To cause to flow out and be lost or wasted;
to shed, or suffer to be shed, as in battle or in manslaughter; as, a
man spills another's blood, or his own blood.
And to revenge his blood so justly
spilt.
Dryden.
5. (Naut.) To relieve a sail from the
pressure of the wind, so that it can be more easily reefed or furled,
or to lessen the strain.
Spilling line (Naut.), a rope used for
spilling, or dislodging, the wind from the belly of a sail.
Totten.
Spill, v. i. 1. To
be destroyed, ruined, or wasted; to come to ruin; to perish; to
waste. [Obs.]
That thou wilt suffer innocents to
spill.
Chaucer.
2. To be shed; to run over; to fall out, and
be lost or wasted. "He was so topful of himself, that he let it
spill on all the company." I. Watts.
