Meaning

noun flesh of quail; suitable for roasting or broiling if young; otherwise must be braised

noun small gallinaceous game birds

verb draw back, as with fear or pain

originFrom Middle English quayle, quaile, quaille, from Anglo-Norman quaille, from Late Latin quaccola (“quail”). (prostitute): So called because the quail was thought to be a very amorous bird.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0