v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Spilled or Spilt p. pr. & vb. n. Spilling. ] [ OE. spillen, usually, to destroy, AS. spillan, spildan, to destroy; akin to Icel. spilla to destroy, Sw. spilla to spill, Dan. spilde, LG. & D. spillen to squander, OHG. spildan. ] 1. To destroy; to kill; to put an end to. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] And gave him to the queen, all at her will
To choose whether she would him save or spill. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ] Greater glory think [ it ] to save than spill. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. To mar; to injure; to deface; hence, to destroy by misuse; to waste. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] They [ the colors ] disfigure the stuff and spill the whole workmanship. Puttenham. [ 1913 Webster ] Spill not the morning, the quintessence of day, in recreations. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ] ☞ Spill differs from pour in expressing accidental loss, -- a loss or waste contrary to purpose. [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ] And to revenge his blood so justly spilt. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ]
Spilling line (Naut.), a rope used for spilling, or dislodging, the wind from the belly of a sail. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]
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