Chill, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Chilled (chĭld); p. pr. & vb.
n. Chilling.] 1. To strike
with a chill; to make chilly; to cause to shiver; to affect with
cold.
When winter chilled the day.
Goldsmith.
2. To check enthusiasm or warmth of
feeling of; to depress; to discourage.
Every thought on God chills the gayety of
his spirits.
Rogers.
3. (Metal.) To produce, by sudden
cooling, a change of crystallization at or near the surface of,
so as to increase the hardness; said of cast iron.
Chill (chĭl), n. [AS.
cele, cyle, from the same root as celan,
calan, to be cold; akin to D. kil cold, coldness,
Sw. kyla to chill, and E. cool. See Cold,
and cf. Cool.]
1. A moderate but disagreeable degree of
cold; a disagreeable sensation of coolness, accompanied with
shivering. "[A] wintry chill." W.
Irving.
2. (Med.) A sensation of cold with
convulsive shaking of the body, pinched face, pale skin, and blue
lips, caused by undue cooling of the body or by nervous
excitement, or forming the precursor of some constitutional
disturbance, as of a fever.
3. A check to enthusiasm or warmth of
feeling; discouragement; as, a chill comes over an
assembly.
4. An iron mold or portion of a mold,
serving to cool rapidly, and so to harden, the surface of molten
iron brought in contact with it. Raymond.
5. The hardened part of a casting, as the
tread of a car wheel. Knight.
Chill and fever, fever and
ague.
Chill, a. 1.
Moderately cold; tending to cause shivering; chilly;
raw.
Noisome winds, and blasting vapors
chill.
Milton.
2. Affected by cold. "My veins are
chill." Shak.
3. Characterized by coolness of manner,
feeling, etc.; lacking enthusiasm or warmth; formal; distant; as,
a chill reception.
4. Discouraging; depressing;
dispiriting.
Chill, v. i. (Metal.)
To become surface-hardened by sudden cooling while
solidifying; as, some kinds of cast iron chill to a
greater depth than others.