Wednesday Word

squill (skwil) n. the dried bulb of white varieties of a plant (Urginea maritima) of the lily family, formerly used in medicine


I first saw the word squill used by a clever player (not me) in an electronic Scrabble game. Since the all-knowing Scrabble program accepted the word, I had to assume it really was a word. My paper and ink dictionary agreed. Then, I came across the word in The Patchwork Garden by Sydney Eddison. It seems that I can no longer be skeptical. Squill is a real word for a real thing.