Quill vs. Spine — What's the Difference?

A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal-nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventually, the ballpoint pen.

A series of vertebrae extending from the skull to the small of the back, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen; the backbone

The hollow stemlike main shaft of a feather. Also called calamus.

The part of a book's jacket or cover that encloses the inner edges of the pages, facing outwards when the book is on a shelf and typically bearing the title and the author's name.

Any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird.

Any hard, pointed defensive projection or structure, such as a prickle of a hedgehog, a spike-like projection on a sea urchin, a sharp ray in a fish's fin, or a spike on the stem of a plant.

A writing pen made from the shaft of a feather.

A linear pay scale operated by some large organizations that allows flexibility for local and specific conditions.

A plectrum for a stringed instrument of the clavichord type.

A tall mass of viscous lava extruded from a volcano

A pipe having a hollow stem.

The spinal column of a vertebrate.

A toothpick made from the stem of a feather.

(Zoology) Any of various pointed projections, processes, or appendages of animals.

One of the sharp hollow spines of a porcupine or hedgehog.

A strong, sharp-pointed outgrowth derived from a leaf or leaf part.

A spindle or bobbin around which yarn is wound in weaving.

Any of various similar sharp structures, such as a thorn.

A hollow shaft that rotates on a solid shaft when gears are engaged.

The hinged back of a book.

To wind (thread or yarn) onto a quill.

The crest of a ridge.

To make or press small ridges in (fabric).

Strength of character; courage or willpower.

To practice the art or craft of quilling.

A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen.

The lower shaft of a feather, specifically the region lacking barbs.

(figurative) Courage or assertiveness.

A pen made from a feather.

Something resembling a backbone, such as a ridge, or a long, central structure from which other structures radiate.

(by extension) Any pen.

The narrow, bound edge of a book that encloses the inner edges of the pages, facing outwards when the book is on a shelf and typically bearing the title and the author's and publisher's name.

A sharply pointed, barbed, and easily detached needle-like structure that grows on the skin of a porcupine or hedgehog as a defense against predators.

A pointed, fairly rigid protuberance or needlelike structure on an animal, shell, or plant.

A thin piece of bark, especially of cinnamon or cinchona, curled up into a tube.

(botany) The heartwood of trees.

The pen of a squid.

(neuroscience) dendritic spine.

(music) The plectrum with which musicians strike the strings of certain instruments.

A linear payscale operated by some large organizations that allows flexibility for local and specific conditions.

(music) The tube of a musical instrument.

(geology) A tall mass of viscous lava extruded from a volcano.

Something having the form of a quill, such as the fold or plain of a ruff, or (weaving) a spindle, or spool, upon which the thread for the woof is wound in a shuttle.

The stiffness of an arrow.

To pierce or be pierced with quills.

A sharp appendage to any of a plant; a thorn.

(figuratively) To write.

A rigid and sharp projection upon any part of an animal.

To form fabric into small, rounded folds.

The backbone, or spinal column, of an animal; - so called from the projecting processes upon the vertebræ.

To decorate with quillwork.

Anything resembling the spine or backbone; a ridge.

To subject (a woman who is giving birth) to the practice of quilling (blowing pepper into her nose to induce or hasten labor).

The series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord;

One of the large feathers of a bird's wing, or one of the rectrices of the tail; also, the stock of such a feather.

Any pointed projection

A pen for writing made by sharpening and splitting the point or nib of the stock of a feather; as, history is the proper subject of his quill.

A sharp-pointed tip on a stem or leaf

A spine of the hedgehog or porcupine.

A sharp rigid animal process or appendage; as a porcupine quill or a ridge on a bone or a ray of a fish fin

The plectrum with which musicians strike the strings of certain instruments.

Something having the form of a quill

A roll of dried bark; as, a quill of cinnamon or of cinchona.

To plaint in small cylindrical ridges, called quillings; as, to quill a ruffle.

To wind on a quill, as thread or yarn.

Pen made from a bird's feather

A stiff hollow protective spine on a porcupine or hedgehog

Any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird

The hollow shaft of a feather