Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Distill

Distill , intransitive verb

[French distiller, from Latin destillare, destillatum; de + stillare to drop, stilla a drop, prob. from stiria frozen drop, icicle; prob. akin to stare, English stand. Compare Still, n. & v., Instill.]

1.
To drop; to fall in drops; to trickle.
Soft showers distilled, and suns grew warm in vain. — Pope
2.
To flow gently, or in a small stream.
The Euphrates distilleth out of the mountains of Armenia. — Sir W. Raleigh
3.
To practice the art of distillation. — Shakespeare

Distill , transitive verb

1.
To let fall or send down in drops.
Or o'er the glebe distill the kindly rain. — Pope
The dew which on the tender grass The evening had distilled. — Drayton
2.
To obtain by distillation; to subject to a process of evaporation and subsequent condensation; to extract by distillation, as spirits, essential oil, etc.; to rectify; as, to distill brandy from wine; to distill alcoholic spirits from grain; to distill essential oils from flowers, etc.; to distill fresh water from sea water.
Distilling odors on me. — Tennyson
3.
To subject to distillation; as, to distill molasses in making rum; to distill barley, rye, corn, etc.
4.
To dissolve or melt. [Rare]
Swords by the lightning's subtle force distilled. — Addison
5.
to extract out and present the essence of; to shorten and refine; to present the essential elements of; -- of ideas or texts.