Spill

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /spɪl/

Definitions

1. To cause a liquid or substance to flow out unintentionally ; the amount of liquid that has accidentally come out ; to disclose information or secrets unexpectedly
2. To accidentally let a fluid pour out of its container ; the quantity of liquid that escapes by accident ; to reveal hidden or confidential details without warning
3. To let liquid run or fall out by mistake ; the spilled portion of a liquid ; to unexpectedly make known private or sensitive information

Etymology: Before it meant letting liquid run out of a container, "spill" meant to kill or destroy. Its Old English ancestor, "spillan" or "spildan," carried the sense of destroying, wasting, or ruining, and in Middle English it could still mean to put to death. The spread of the liquid sense came later, as the idea of something being wasted or lost narrowed toward something escaping its vessel. The root reaches back to a Proto-Indo-European form meaning to sunder, split, or tear apart, which gives a hint of how a word for violent breaking could drift toward a word for things flowing out. Across the Germanic languages the family keeps its older senses. Dutch "spillen" still means to waste or use needlessly, Swedish "spilla" and Danish "spilde" mean to spill or waste, and Icelandic "spilla" means to contaminate or spoil.

Synonyms: overflow, pour, slosh, shed, drip

Antonyms: contain, hold, retain, collect, gather