Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CHILL, n. [Sax. cele, cyle, cyl, cold; celan, to be cold; D. kil; allied to Fr. geler, L. gelo, gelidus. See Cold, which appears to be radically the same word. The word cele in Saxon is a noun.]

1. A shivering with cold; rigors, as in an ague; the cold fit that precedes a fever; sensation of cold in an animal body; chilliness. [See Cold and Heat.]
2. A moderate degree of cold; chilliness in any body; that which gives the sensation of cold.