quills
Prickly rodent defense
Quills are the hollow, rigid shafts of feathers, especially the large flight feathers whose tips were once sharpened into writing instruments.
Before steel nibs, writers dipped quill pens in ink: He scratched out a letter with his quill.
Quills also refer to the sharp, defensive spines of porcupines and hedgehogs.
To quill is to pleat fabric into narrow, rounded folds.
Barbed defensive rodent
- hedgehogSpiny nocturnal mammal
- echidnaEgg-laying spined mammal
- spinesStiff, pointed projections
- barbsSharp points or jibes
piercing · pointed · prickly · spiky · needlelike · deterrent · warning · armor
Writing fluid
- nibPen's writing tip
- parchmentTreated hide for manuscripts
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- scriptWritten words for performance
calligraphy · penmanship · handwriting · lettering · vellum · scroll · dip pen · inkwell
porcupine
Barbed defensive rodent
barbs · piercing · pointed · prickly · spiky · needlelike · deterrent · warning · armor · shielding
ink
Writing fluid
- nibPen's writing tip
- parchmentTreated hide for manuscripts
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
script · calligraphy · penmanship · handwriting · lettering · vellum · scroll · dip pen · inkwell · scribe
plumage
Bird's complete feather coat
vane · rachis · preening · molting · fletching · pinfeather · peacock · coverts · tailfeathers · down
pointed
Tapering to a tip
- piercingPenetrating or very sharp
- needlelikeResembling a sharp spine
- pricklySpiny or irritable
spiky · tapered · barbed · sharp · stabbing · pricking · jabbing · penetrating · poking · stinging
- feathersfeather, feathers, plume, down feathers, flight feathers
- animal defensespoison, venom, toxin, toxins, horns
- Early ModernRenaissance, 1500s, 1600s, Reformation, sixteenth century
- illuminated manuscriptsilluminated manuscripts, illuminated manuscript, illuminated letters, illumination, illuminations
- medieval educationliberal arts, trivium, scriptorium, copying, religious instruction
- animal adaptationscamouflage, webbed feet, filter feeding, thick fur, blubber
quillsballpoint pen
Rotating-sphere writing instrument
keyboard · touchscreen · laser printer · word processor · typewriter
- quill penFeather used for writing
- porcupine quillsSpiny rodent defense structures
- goose quillBird feather for writing
- paper quillingCraft using rolled paper
- quill writingScript made with feathers
- quill workDecoration using porcupine spines