Spill \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.
Note: 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.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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