Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
QUILL
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English quil hollow reed, bobbin; akin to Middle High German kil large feather
Date: 15th century
1. a. a bobbin, spool, or spindle on which filling yarn is wound, a hollow shaft often surrounding another shaft and used in various mechanical devices, a roll of dried bark ,
2. a. the hollow horny shaft of a feather, feather , one of the hollow sharp spines of a porcupine or hedgehog, pen III,3, something made from or resembling the quill of a feather, a float for a fishing line,
II. transitive verb
Date: 1783
to pierce with quills,
2. to wind (thread or yarn) on a quill, to make a series of small rounded ridges in (cloth)