squill Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun bulb of the sea squill, which is sliced, dried, and used as an expectorant
  2. noun having dense spikes of small white flowers and yielding a bulb with medicinal properties
    Urginea maritima; sea onion; sea squill.
  3. noun an Old World plant of the genus Scilla having narrow basal leaves and pink or blue or white racemose flowers
    scilla.

WordNet

Squill noun
Etymology
F. squille (also scille a squill, in sense 1), L. squilla, scilla, Gr. .
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) (a) A European bulbous liliaceous plant (Urginea, formerly Scilla, maritima), of acrid, expectorant, diuretic, and emetic properties used in medicine. Called also sea onion. (b) Any bulbous plant of the genus Scilla; as, the bluebell squill (S. mutans).
  2. (Zoöl.) (a) A squilla. (b) A mantis.

Webster 1913