squilla means A dinner bell, (historical) a shrill little bell used to signal dinner for medieval monks. It carries an Arena rating of 1488, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, squilla ranks #456 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,719 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #4,124 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #4,720 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “squilla” is a great word
A mantis shrimp of the genus Squilla, or historically, a small shrill bell used to signal mealtimes in medieval monasteries. From Latin squilla, from Ancient Greek σκίλλα (skílla, "sea onion, squill"). Unlike a common "bell"—any resonant instrument that may toll or chime—or a terrestrial "mantis"—an insect poised in prayerful stillness—squilla occupies stranger territory. It is the underwater flash of a predator's claw, the sudden, piercing note echoing through cloistered stone, and the odd kinship of a sacred timer and a segmented hunter. Two meanings bound only by a borrowed name, one calling to order, the other a creature of pure, chaotic impulse.
Etymology
From Latin squilla, from Ancient Greek σκίλλα (skílla).
noun
- A dinner bell, (historical) a shrill little bell used to signal dinner for medieval monks.
- A squill, a sea onion.
- A mantis shrimp (Squilla mantis) or other members of the genus Squilla.
- An insect resembling a mantis shrimp.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- scilla 59% match — A plant of the genus Scilla; a squill. vs squilla →
- squails 53% match — An old parlour game in which small discs (called squails) are snapped from the edge of the table to a centre mark called the process. vs squilla →
- scungilli 53% match — Whelk, especially when prepared as food. vs squilla →
- tintinnabulum 52% match — A small clinking bell, particularly (historical) a small bell used to call monks to certain tasks. vs squilla →
- campanella 52% match — A smallish suspended bell used in medieval monastic cloisters. vs squilla →
- squamella 51% match — A diminutive scale or bractlet, such as those found on the receptacle in many composite plants; a palea. vs squilla →
- quin 51% match — A quintuplet. vs squilla →
- scyllarian 51% match — Any of the family Scyllaridae of crustaceans with depressed body and broad, flat antennae; a slipper lobster vs squilla →