Meanings
plural quilts
- A bed covering consisting of two layers of fabric stitched together, with insulation between, often having a decorative design.
My grandmother is going to sew a quilt.
- A roll of material with sound-absorbing properties, used in soundproofing.
- A quilted skirt worn by women.
- figurativelySomething composed of a variety of stitched-together parts; a patchwork.
Her humor was as bawdy as ever, and evenly placed throughout. Early on […] she alternated alternated jokes and stanzas, providing a wonderful quilt of her musical and story-telling talents.
1983 April 9, Walta Borawski, “Midler in Boston”, in Gay Community News, page 12
present singular third person quilts · participle present quilting · participle past quilted · past quilted
- To construct a quilt.
- To construct something, such as clothing, using the same technique.
Get up, get up for shame, the blooming morne / Upon her wings presents the god unshorne. / See how Aurora throwes her faire / Fresh-quilted colours through the aire; / Get up, sweet slug-a-bed, and see / The dew bespangling herbe and tree.
1648, Robert Herrick, “Corinna’s Going a Maying”, in Hesperides, or The VVorks both Humane & Divine, London: Printed for John Williams, and Francis Eglesfield, […], →OCLC; republished in The Poetical Works of Robert Herrick, London: William Pickering, […], 1825, →OCLC, pages 91–921 more example
Two hundred Sempſtreſſes were employed to make me Shirts, and Linen for Bed and Table, all of the ſtrongeft and coarſeſt kind they could get; which, however, they were forced to quilt together in ſeveral Folds, for the thickeſt was ſome degrees finer than Lawn.
1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “Of the Inhabitants of Lilliput; […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), pages 107–108 - UKobsoleteslangTo beat or thrash.
I am glad, said Mr. Slick, that cussed critter, that schoolmaster, hasn't yet woke up. I'm most afeerd if he had aturned out afore we started, I should have quilted him, for that talk of his last night sticks in my crop considerable hard.
1884, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, The Clockmaker, page 113
Synonyms & antonyms
nounbedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and stitched together
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinculcita
- Old Frenchcoilte
- Anglo-Normanquilte
- Middle Englishquilte
- Englishquilt
Inherited from Middle English quilte, quylte, from Anglo-Norman quilte and Old French coilte, cuilte (compare French couette), from Latin culcita. Doublet of quoit.
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali লেপ, কাঁথা
- লেপ (lep)bed covering
- কাঁথা (kãtha)bed covering
Bulgarian юрга̀н, кувертю́ра
- юрга̀н (jurgàn)bed covering
- кувертю́ра (kuvertjúra)bed covering
Catalan edredó
- edredóbed covering
Chinese Cantonese 被
- 被 (pei⁵)bed covering
Chinese Mandarin 被子, 衾
- 被子 (bèizi)bed covering
- 衾 (qīn)bed covering
- 絎 /绗 (hèng)to construct something else with quilting technique
Czech peřina
- peřinabed covering
Danish vattæppe
- vattæppebed covering
Dutch quilt
- quiltbed covering
Esperanto litkovrilo
- litkovrilobed covering
Estonian vatitekk
- vatitekkbed covering
Finnish täkki, topata
- täkkibed covering
- topatato construct a quilt
- topatato construct something else with quilting technique
French édredon, couette
- édredonbed covering
- couettebed covering
- courtepointebed covering
- matelasserto construct a quilt
- ouaterto construct a quilt
German Steppdecke, Quilt
- Steppdeckebed covering
- Quiltbed covering
- Federbettbed covering
- Daunendeckebed covering
- Duvetbed covering
Greek πάπλωμα
- πάπλωμα (páploma)bed covering
Hawaiian kapa poho, poho
- kapa pohobed covering
- pohoto construct a quilt
Hungarian paplan, steppel
- paplanbed covering
- steppelto construct something else with quilting technique
- tűzdelto construct something else with quilting technique
Irish cuilt
- cuiltbed covering
Italian trapunta, imbottire
- trapuntabed covering
- imbottireto construct a quilt
- trapuntareto construct a quilt
Japanese 掛け布団, 衾
- 掛け布団 (kakebuton)bed covering
- 衾 (fusuma)bed covering
Latin strātum
- strātumbed covering
Latvian vatēta sega
- vatēta segabed covering
Māori kuira
- kuirabed covering
Persian لحاف, دواج
- لحاف (lahâf)bed covering
- دواج (davâj)bed covering
Polish kołdra, robić kołdrę
- kołdrabed covering
- robić kołdręto construct a quilt
- zrobić kołdręto construct a quilt
- pikowaćto construct something else with quilting technique
- przeszywaćto construct something else with quilting technique
- przeszyćto construct something else with quilting technique
Portuguese colcha, edredom
- colchabed covering
- edredombed covering
- edredãobed covering
- frouxelbed covering
Romanian plapumă
- plapumăbed covering
Russian пери́на, стёганое полотно
- пери́на (perína)bed covering
- стёганое полотно (stjóganoje polotno)bed covering
- стёганая ткань (stjóganaja tkanʹ)bed covering
Scottish Gaelic cuibhrig, cuilt
- cuibhrigbed covering
- cuiltbed covering
Spanish colcha, edredón
- colchabed covering
- edredónbed covering
- acolchadobed covering
- plumónbed covering
- cubrelechobed covering
- cuiltabed covering
- cobijabed covering
- acolcharto construct a quilt
- acolcharto construct something else with quilting technique
Swedish täcke, filt
- täckebed covering
- filtbed covering
Thai ผ้านวม
- ผ้านวม (pâa-nuuam)bed covering
Turkish yorgan
- yorganbed covering
Ukrainian пери́на
- пери́на (perýna)bed covering
Vietnamese duvet
- duvetbed covering
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with quilt
Cite this entry
quilt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quilt
“quilt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quilt. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quilt,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quilt.
Source: quilt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.