Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Thrill

Thrill (thril) , noun

[See Trill.]

A warbling; a trill.

Thrill , noun

[Anglo-Saxon þyrel an aperture. See Thrill, transitive verb]

A breathing place or hole; a nostril, as of a bird.

Thrill , transitive verb

[Old English thrillen, þirlen, þurlen, to pierce; all probably from Anglo-Saxon þyrlian, þyrelian, Fr. þyrel pierced; as a noun, a hole, from þurh through; probably akin to Dutch drillen to drill, to bore. r53. See Through, and compare Drill to bore, Nostril, Trill to trickle.]

1.
To perforate by a pointed instrument; to bore; to transfix; to drill. [Obsolete]
He pierced through his chafed chest With thrilling point of deadly iron brand. — Spenser
2.
Hence, to affect, as if by something that pierces or pricks; to cause to have a shivering, throbbing, tingling, or exquisite sensation; to pierce; to penetrate.
To bathe in flery floods, or to reside In thrilling region of thick-ribbed ice. — Shakespeare
Vivid and picturesque turns of expression which thrill the reader with sudden delight. — M. Arnold
The cruel word her tender heart so thrilled, That sudden cold did run through every vein. — Spenser
3.
To hurl; to throw; to cast. [Obsolete]
I'll thrill my javelin. — Heywood

Thrill , intransitive verb

1.
To pierce, as something sharp; to penetrate; especially, to cause a tingling sensation that runs through the system with a slight shivering; as, a sharp sound thrills through the whole frame.
I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins. — Shakespeare
2.
To feel a sharp, shivering, tingling, or exquisite sensation, running through the body.
To seek sweet safety out In vaults and prisons, and to thrill and shake. — Shakespeare

Thrill , noun

1.
A drill. See 3d Drill, 1.
2.
A sensation as of being thrilled; a tremulous excitement; as, a thrill of horror; a thrill of joy. — Burns