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.
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"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, spills.