diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/mod.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/mod.rs
index 2d4de6ac21c5..33da2fc51ca5 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/mod.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 //!
 //!     CsvWriter::new(&mut file)
 //!     .has_header(true)
-//!     .with_delimiter(b',')
+//!     .with_separator(b',')
 //!     .finish(df)
 //! }
 //! ```
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/parser.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/parser.rs
index b89d5cbcb297..1b7880f1352e 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/parser.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/parser.rs
@@ -30,20 +30,20 @@ pub(crate) fn next_line_position_naive(input: &[u8], eol_char: u8) -> Option<usi
 pub(crate) fn next_line_position(
     mut input: &[u8],
     mut expected_fields: Option<usize>,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
 ) -> Option<usize> {
     fn accept_line(
         line: &[u8],
         expected_fields: usize,
-        delimiter: u8,
+        separator: u8,
         eol_char: u8,
         quote_char: Option<u8>,
     ) -> bool {
         let mut count = 0usize;
-        for (field, _) in SplitFields::new(line, delimiter, quote_char, eol_char) {
-            if memchr2_iter(delimiter, eol_char, field).count() >= expected_fields {
+        for (field, _) in SplitFields::new(line, separator, quote_char, eol_char) {
+            if memchr2_iter(separator, eol_char, field).count() >= expected_fields {
                 return false;
             }
             count += 1;
@@ -95,10 +95,10 @@ pub(crate) fn next_line_position(
         match (line, expected_fields) {
             // count the fields, and determine if they are equal to what we expect from the schema
             (Some(line), Some(expected_fields)) => {
-                if accept_line(line, expected_fields, delimiter, eol_char, quote_char) {
+                if accept_line(line, expected_fields, separator, eol_char, quote_char) {
                     let mut valid = true;
                     for line in lines.take(2) {
-                        if !accept_line(line, expected_fields, delimiter, eol_char, quote_char) {
+                        if !accept_line(line, expected_fields, separator, eol_char, quote_char) {
                             valid = false;
                             break;
                         }
@@ -160,13 +160,13 @@ pub(crate) fn skip_whitespace(input: &[u8]) -> &[u8] {
 }
 
 #[inline]
-/// Can be used to skip whitespace, but exclude the delimiter
+/// Can be used to skip whitespace, but exclude the separator
 pub(crate) fn skip_whitespace_exclude(input: &[u8], exclude: u8) -> &[u8] {
     skip_condition(input, |b| b != exclude && (is_whitespace(b)))
 }
 
 #[inline]
-/// Can be used to skip whitespace, but exclude the delimiter
+/// Can be used to skip whitespace, but exclude the separator
 pub(crate) fn skip_whitespace_line_ending_exclude(
     input: &[u8],
     exclude: u8,
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ pub(crate) fn get_line_stats(
     n_lines: usize,
     eol_char: u8,
     expected_fields: usize,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
 ) -> Option<(f32, f32)> {
     let mut lengths = Vec::with_capacity(n_lines);
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ pub(crate) fn get_line_stats(
         let pos = next_line_position(
             bytes_trunc,
             Some(expected_fields),
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             quote_char,
             eol_char,
         )?;
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ fn skip_this_line(bytes: &[u8], quote: Option<u8>, eol_char: u8) -> &[u8] {
 pub(super) fn parse_lines<'a>(
     mut bytes: &'a [u8],
     offset: usize,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     comment_char: Option<u8>,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
@@ -391,9 +391,9 @@ pub(super) fn parse_lines<'a>(
         // only when we have one column \n should not be skipped
         // other widths should have commas.
         bytes = if schema_len > 1 {
-            skip_whitespace_line_ending_exclude(bytes, delimiter, eol_char)
+            skip_whitespace_line_ending_exclude(bytes, separator, eol_char)
         } else {
-            skip_whitespace_exclude(bytes, delimiter)
+            skip_whitespace_exclude(bytes, separator)
         };
         if bytes.is_empty() {
             return Ok(original_bytes_len);
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ pub(super) fn parse_lines<'a>(
         let mut next_projected = unsafe { projection_iter.next().unwrap_unchecked() };
         let mut processed_fields = 0;
 
-        let mut iter = SplitFields::new(bytes, delimiter, quote_char, eol_char);
+        let mut iter = SplitFields::new(bytes, separator, quote_char, eol_char);
         let mut idx = 0u32;
         let mut read_sol = 0;
         loop {
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read.rs
index 8d5b4f67dc90..4d8527b70b80 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read.rs
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ where
     projection: Option<Vec<usize>>,
     /// Optional column names to project/ select.
     columns: Option<Vec<String>>,
-    delimiter: Option<u8>,
+    separator: Option<u8>,
     pub(crate) schema: Option<SchemaRef>,
     encoding: CsvEncoding,
     n_threads: Option<usize>,
@@ -204,9 +204,9 @@ where
         self
     }
 
-    /// Set the CSV file's column delimiter as a byte character
-    pub fn with_delimiter(mut self, delimiter: u8) -> Self {
-        self.delimiter = Some(delimiter);
+    /// Set the CSV file's column separator as a byte character
+    pub fn with_separator(mut self, separator: u8) -> Self {
+        self.separator = Some(separator);
         self
     }
 
@@ -310,8 +310,8 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Set the `char` used as quote char. The default is `b'"'`. If set to `[None]` quoting is disabled.
-    pub fn with_quote_char(mut self, quote: Option<u8>) -> Self {
-        self.quote_char = quote;
+    pub fn with_quote_char(mut self, quote_char: Option<u8>) -> Self {
+        self.quote_char = quote_char;
         self
     }
 
@@ -358,7 +358,7 @@ impl<'a, R: MmapBytesReader + 'a> CsvReader<'a, R> {
             self.skip_rows_before_header,
             std::mem::take(&mut self.projection),
             self.max_records,
-            self.delimiter,
+            self.separator,
             self.has_header,
             self.ignore_errors,
             self.schema.clone(),
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ impl<'a> CsvReader<'a, Box<dyn MmapBytesReader>> {
 
                 let (inferred_schema, _, _) = infer_file_schema(
                     &reader_bytes,
-                    self.delimiter.unwrap_or(b','),
+                    self.separator.unwrap_or(b','),
                     self.max_records,
                     self.has_header,
                     None,
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ impl<'a> CsvReader<'a, Box<dyn MmapBytesReader>> {
 
                 let (inferred_schema, _, _) = infer_file_schema(
                     &reader_bytes,
-                    self.delimiter.unwrap_or(b','),
+                    self.separator.unwrap_or(b','),
                     self.max_records,
                     self.has_header,
                     None,
@@ -543,7 +543,7 @@ where
             max_records: Some(128),
             skip_rows_before_header: 0,
             projection: None,
-            delimiter: None,
+            separator: None,
             has_header: true,
             ignore_errors: false,
             schema: None,
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/batched_mmap.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/batched_mmap.rs
index 93251de658bf..f0299ca40fe9 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/batched_mmap.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/batched_mmap.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ pub(crate) fn get_file_chunks_iterator(
     chunk_size: usize,
     bytes: &[u8],
     expected_fields: usize,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
 ) {
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ pub(crate) fn get_file_chunks_iterator(
         let end_pos = match next_line_position(
             &bytes[search_pos..],
             Some(expected_fields),
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             quote_char,
             eol_char,
         ) {
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ struct ChunkOffsetIter<'a> {
     // not a promise, but something we want
     rows_per_batch: usize,
     expected_fields: usize,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
 }
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ impl<'a> Iterator for ChunkOffsetIter<'a> {
                     let bytes_first_row = next_line_position(
                         &self.bytes[self.last_offset + 2..],
                         Some(self.expected_fields),
-                        self.delimiter,
+                        self.separator,
                         self.quote_char,
                         self.eol_char,
                     )
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ impl<'a> Iterator for ChunkOffsetIter<'a> {
                     self.rows_per_batch * bytes_first_row,
                     self.bytes,
                     self.expected_fields,
-                    self.delimiter,
+                    self.separator,
                     self.quote_char,
                     self.eol_char,
                 );
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
             n_chunks: offset_batch_size,
             rows_per_batch: self.chunk_size,
             expected_fields: self.schema.len(),
-            delimiter: self.delimiter,
+            separator: self.separator,
             quote_char: self.quote_char,
             eol_char: self.eol_char,
         };
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
             truncate_ragged_lines: self.truncate_ragged_lines,
             n_rows: self.n_rows,
             encoding: self.encoding,
-            delimiter: self.delimiter,
+            separator: self.separator,
             schema: self.schema,
             rows_read: 0,
             _cat_lock,
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ pub struct BatchedCsvReaderMmap<'a> {
     ignore_errors: bool,
     n_rows: Option<usize>,
     encoding: CsvEncoding,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     schema: SchemaRef,
     rows_read: IdxSize,
     #[cfg(feature = "dtype-categorical")]
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ impl<'a> BatchedCsvReaderMmap<'a> {
                 .map(|(bytes_offset_thread, stop_at_nbytes)| {
                     let mut df = read_chunk(
                         bytes,
-                        self.delimiter,
+                        self.separator,
                         self.schema.as_ref(),
                         self.ignore_errors,
                         &self.projection,
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/batched_read.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/batched_read.rs
index 7f6b94c579f1..9e8e6b6e6836 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/batched_read.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/batched_read.rs
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ pub(crate) fn get_offsets(
     chunk_size: usize,
     bytes: &[u8],
     expected_fields: usize,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
 ) {
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ pub(crate) fn get_offsets(
         let end_pos = match next_line_position(
             &bytes[search_pos..],
             Some(expected_fields),
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             quote_char,
             eol_char,
         ) {
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ struct ChunkReader<'a> {
     // not a promise, but something we want
     rows_per_batch: usize,
     expected_fields: usize,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
 }
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ impl<'a> ChunkReader<'a> {
         file: &'a File,
         rows_per_batch: usize,
         expected_fields: usize,
-        delimiter: u8,
+        separator: u8,
         quote_char: Option<u8>,
         eol_char: u8,
         page_size: u64,
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ impl<'a> ChunkReader<'a> {
             n_chunks: 16,
             rows_per_batch,
             expected_fields,
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             quote_char,
             eol_char,
         }
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ impl<'a> ChunkReader<'a> {
                 bytes_first_row = next_line_position(
                     &self.buf[2..],
                     Some(self.expected_fields),
-                    self.delimiter,
+                    self.separator,
                     self.quote_char,
                     self.eol_char,
                 );
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ impl<'a> ChunkReader<'a> {
             self.rows_per_batch * bytes_first_row,
             &self.buf,
             self.expected_fields,
-            self.delimiter,
+            self.separator,
             self.quote_char,
             self.eol_char,
         );
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
             file,
             self.chunk_size,
             self.schema.len(),
-            self.delimiter,
+            self.separator,
             self.quote_char,
             self.eol_char,
             4096,
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
             truncate_ragged_lines: self.truncate_ragged_lines,
             n_rows: self.n_rows,
             encoding: self.encoding,
-            delimiter: self.delimiter,
+            separator: self.separator,
             schema: self.schema,
             rows_read: 0,
             _cat_lock,
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ pub struct BatchedCsvReaderRead<'a> {
     truncate_ragged_lines: bool,
     n_rows: Option<usize>,
     encoding: CsvEncoding,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     schema: SchemaRef,
     rows_read: IdxSize,
     #[cfg(feature = "dtype-categorical")]
@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ impl<'a> BatchedCsvReaderRead<'a> {
                     let stop_at_n_bytes = chunk.len();
                     let mut df = read_chunk(
                         chunk,
-                        self.delimiter,
+                        self.separator,
                         self.schema.as_ref(),
                         self.ignore_errors,
                         &self.projection,
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/mod.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/mod.rs
index b7334619276b..3d9b43adc15c 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/read_impl/mod.rs
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ pub(crate) struct CoreReader<'a> {
     encoding: CsvEncoding,
     n_threads: Option<usize>,
     has_header: bool,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     sample_size: usize,
     chunk_size: usize,
     low_memory: bool,
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
         mut skip_rows: usize,
         mut projection: Option<Vec<usize>>,
         max_records: Option<usize>,
-        delimiter: Option<u8>,
+        separator: Option<u8>,
         has_header: bool,
         ignore_errors: bool,
         schema: Option<SchemaRef>,
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
         }
 
         // check if schema should be inferred
-        let delimiter = delimiter.unwrap_or(b',');
+        let separator = separator.unwrap_or(b',');
 
         let mut schema = match schema {
             Some(schema) => schema,
@@ -239,14 +239,14 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
                     // again after decompression.
                     #[cfg(any(feature = "decompress", feature = "decompress-fast"))]
                     if let Some(b) =
-                        decompress(&reader_bytes, n_rows, delimiter, quote_char, eol_char)
+                        decompress(&reader_bytes, n_rows, separator, quote_char, eol_char)
                     {
                         reader_bytes = ReaderBytes::Owned(b);
                     }
 
                     let (inferred_schema, _, _) = infer_file_schema(
                         &reader_bytes,
-                        delimiter,
+                        separator,
                         max_records,
                         has_header,
                         schema_overwrite.as_deref(),
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
             encoding,
             n_threads,
             has_header,
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             sample_size,
             chunk_size,
             low_memory,
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
         let starting_point_offset = bytes.as_ptr() as usize;
 
         // Skip all leading white space and the occasional utf8-bom
-        bytes = skip_whitespace_exclude(skip_bom(bytes), self.delimiter);
+        bytes = skip_whitespace_exclude(skip_bom(bytes), self.separator);
         // \n\n can be a empty string row of a single column
         // in other cases we skip it.
         if self.schema.len() > 1 {
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
                     // we don't pass expected fields
                     // as we want to skip all rows
                     // no matter the no. of fields
-                    _ => next_line_position(bytes, None, self.delimiter, self.quote_char, eol_char),
+                    _ => next_line_position(bytes, None, self.separator, self.quote_char, eol_char),
                 }
                 .ok_or_else(|| polars_err!(NoData: "not enough lines to skip"))?;
 
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
             self.sample_size,
             self.eol_char,
             self.schema.len(),
-            self.delimiter,
+            self.separator,
             self.quote_char,
         ) {
             if logging {
@@ -415,7 +415,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
                     if let Some(pos) = next_line_position(
                         &bytes[n_bytes..],
                         Some(self.schema.len()),
-                        self.delimiter,
+                        self.separator,
                         self.quote_char,
                         self.eol_char,
                     ) {
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
             bytes,
             n_file_chunks,
             self.schema.len(),
-            self.delimiter,
+            self.separator,
             self.quote_char,
             self.eol_char,
         );
@@ -569,7 +569,6 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
                 file_chunks
                     .into_par_iter()
                     .map(|(bytes_offset_thread, stop_at_nbytes)| {
-                        let delimiter = self.delimiter;
                         let schema = self.schema.as_ref();
                         let ignore_errors = self.ignore_errors;
                         let projection = &projection;
@@ -599,7 +598,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
                             read += parse_lines(
                                 local_bytes,
                                 offset,
-                                delimiter,
+                                self.separator,
                                 self.comment_char,
                                 self.quote_char,
                                 self.eol_char,
@@ -665,7 +664,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
                     .map(|(bytes_offset_thread, stop_at_nbytes)| {
                         let mut df = read_chunk(
                             bytes,
-                            self.delimiter,
+                            self.separator,
                             self.schema.as_ref(),
                             self.ignore_errors,
                             &projection,
@@ -717,7 +716,7 @@ impl<'a> CoreReader<'a> {
                             parse_lines(
                                 remaining_bytes,
                                 0,
-                                self.delimiter,
+                                self.separator,
                                 self.comment_char,
                                 self.quote_char,
                                 self.eol_char,
@@ -795,7 +794,7 @@ fn update_string_stats(
 #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 fn read_chunk(
     bytes: &[u8],
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     schema: &Schema,
     ignore_errors: bool,
     projection: &[usize],
@@ -836,7 +835,7 @@ fn read_chunk(
         read += parse_lines(
             local_bytes,
             offset,
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             comment_char,
             quote_char,
             eol_char,
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/splitfields.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/splitfields.rs
index 7e00aefc53dd..1804cea8559e 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/splitfields.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/splitfields.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ mod inner {
     /// This exists solely because we cannot split the lines naively as
     pub(crate) struct SplitFields<'a> {
         v: &'a [u8],
-        delimiter: u8,
+        separator: u8,
         finished: bool,
         quote_char: u8,
         quoting: bool,
@@ -14,13 +14,13 @@ mod inner {
     impl<'a> SplitFields<'a> {
         pub(crate) fn new(
             slice: &'a [u8],
-            delimiter: u8,
+            separator: u8,
             quote_char: Option<u8>,
             eol_char: u8,
         ) -> Self {
             Self {
                 v: slice,
-                delimiter,
+                separator,
                 finished: false,
                 quote_char: quote_char.unwrap_or(b'"'),
                 quoting: quote_char.is_some(),
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ mod inner {
         }
 
         fn eof_oel(&self, current_ch: u8) -> bool {
-            current_ch == self.delimiter || current_ch == self.eol_char
+            current_ch == self.separator || current_ch == self.eol_char
         }
     }
 
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ mod inner {
             }
 
             let mut needs_escaping = false;
-            // There can be strings with delimiters:
+            // There can be strings with separators:
             // "Street, City",
 
             // Safety:
@@ -157,33 +157,33 @@ mod inner {
     /// This exists solely because we cannot split the lines naively as
     pub(crate) struct SplitFields<'a> {
         pub v: &'a [u8],
-        delimiter: u8,
+        separator: u8,
         pub finished: bool,
         quote_char: u8,
         quoting: bool,
         eol_char: u8,
-        simd_delimiter: SimdVec,
+        simd_separator: SimdVec,
         simd_eol_char: SimdVec,
     }
 
     impl<'a> SplitFields<'a> {
         pub(crate) fn new(
             slice: &'a [u8],
-            delimiter: u8,
+            separator: u8,
             quote_char: Option<u8>,
             eol_char: u8,
         ) -> Self {
-            let simd_delimiter = SimdVec::splat(delimiter);
+            let simd_separator = SimdVec::splat(separator);
             let simd_eol_char = SimdVec::splat(eol_char);
 
             Self {
                 v: slice,
-                delimiter,
+                separator,
                 finished: false,
                 quote_char: quote_char.unwrap_or(b'"'),
                 quoting: quote_char.is_some(),
                 eol_char,
-                simd_delimiter,
+                simd_separator,
                 simd_eol_char,
             }
         }
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ mod inner {
         }
 
         fn eof_oel(&self, current_ch: u8) -> bool {
-            current_ch == self.delimiter || current_ch == self.eol_char
+            current_ch == self.separator || current_ch == self.eol_char
         }
     }
 
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ mod inner {
             }
 
             let mut needs_escaping = false;
-            // There can be strings with delimiters:
+            // There can be strings with separators:
             // "Street, City",
 
             // Safety:
@@ -279,8 +279,8 @@ mod inner {
                                 .unwrap_unchecked_release();
                             let simd_bytes = SimdVec::from(lane);
                             let has_eol_char = simd_bytes.simd_eq(self.simd_eol_char);
-                            let has_delimiter = simd_bytes.simd_eq(self.simd_delimiter);
-                            let has_any = has_delimiter.bitor(has_eol_char);
+                            let has_separator = simd_bytes.simd_eq(self.simd_separator);
+                            let has_any = has_separator.bitor(has_eol_char);
                             if has_any.any() {
                                 // soundness we can transmute because we have the same alignment
                                 let has_any = std::mem::transmute::<
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/utils.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/utils.rs
index e9aef318873a..ba8cc68ee63c 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/utils.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/utils.rs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ pub(crate) fn get_file_chunks(
     bytes: &[u8],
     n_chunks: usize,
     expected_fields: usize,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
 ) -> Vec<(usize, usize)> {
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ pub(crate) fn get_file_chunks(
         let end_pos = match next_line_position(
             &bytes[search_pos..],
             Some(expected_fields),
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             quote_char,
             eol_char,
         ) {
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ pub(crate) fn parse_bytes_with_encoding(
 #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 pub fn infer_file_schema_inner(
     reader_bytes: &ReaderBytes,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     max_read_rows: Option<usize>,
     has_header: bool,
     schema_overwrite: Option<&Schema>,
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ pub fn infer_file_schema_inner(
             }
         }
 
-        let byterecord = SplitFields::new(header_line, delimiter, quote_char, eol_char);
+        let byterecord = SplitFields::new(header_line, separator, quote_char, eol_char);
         if has_header {
             let headers = byterecord
                 .map(|(slice, needs_escaping)| {
@@ -233,8 +233,8 @@ pub fn infer_file_schema_inner(
                 .map(|(i, _s)| format!("column_{}", i + 1))
                 .collect();
             // needed because SplitLines does not return the \n char, so SplitFields does not catch
-            // the latest value if ending with a delimiter.
-            if header_line.ends_with(&[delimiter]) {
+            // the latest value if ending with a separator.
+            if header_line.ends_with(&[separator]) {
                 column_names.push(format!("column_{}", column_names.len() + 1))
             }
             column_names
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ pub fn infer_file_schema_inner(
 
         return infer_file_schema_inner(
             &ReaderBytes::Owned(buf),
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             max_read_rows,
             has_header,
             schema_overwrite,
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ pub fn infer_file_schema_inner(
             }
         }
 
-        let mut record = SplitFields::new(line, delimiter, quote_char, eol_char);
+        let mut record = SplitFields::new(line, separator, quote_char, eol_char);
 
         for i in 0..header_length {
             if let Some((slice, needs_escaping)) = record.next() {
@@ -434,7 +434,7 @@ pub fn infer_file_schema_inner(
         rb.push(eol_char);
         return infer_file_schema_inner(
             &ReaderBytes::Owned(rb),
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             max_read_rows,
             has_header,
             schema_overwrite,
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ pub fn infer_file_schema_inner(
 #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 pub fn infer_file_schema(
     reader_bytes: &ReaderBytes,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     max_read_rows: Option<usize>,
     has_header: bool,
     schema_overwrite: Option<&Schema>,
@@ -482,7 +482,7 @@ pub fn infer_file_schema(
 ) -> PolarsResult<(Schema, usize, usize)> {
     infer_file_schema_inner(
         reader_bytes,
-        delimiter,
+        separator,
         max_read_rows,
         has_header,
         schema_overwrite,
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ pub fn is_compressed(bytes: &[u8]) -> bool {
 fn decompress_impl<R: Read>(
     decoder: &mut R,
     n_rows: Option<usize>,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
 ) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
@@ -548,7 +548,7 @@ fn decompress_impl<R: Read>(
                     }
                     // now that we have enough, we compute the number of fields (also takes embedding into account)
                     expected_fields =
-                        SplitFields::new(&out, delimiter, quote_char, eol_char).count();
+                        SplitFields::new(&out, separator, quote_char, eol_char).count();
                     break;
                 }
             }
@@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ fn decompress_impl<R: Read>(
                 match next_line_position(
                     &out[buf_pos + 1..],
                     Some(expected_fields),
-                    delimiter,
+                    separator,
                     quote_char,
                     eol_char,
                 ) {
@@ -589,16 +589,16 @@ fn decompress_impl<R: Read>(
 pub(crate) fn decompress(
     bytes: &[u8],
     n_rows: Option<usize>,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     quote_char: Option<u8>,
     eol_char: u8,
 ) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
     if bytes.starts_with(&GZIP) {
         let mut decoder = flate2::read::MultiGzDecoder::new(bytes);
-        decompress_impl(&mut decoder, n_rows, delimiter, quote_char, eol_char)
+        decompress_impl(&mut decoder, n_rows, separator, quote_char, eol_char)
     } else if bytes.starts_with(&ZLIB0) || bytes.starts_with(&ZLIB1) || bytes.starts_with(&ZLIB2) {
         let mut decoder = flate2::read::ZlibDecoder::new(bytes);
-        decompress_impl(&mut decoder, n_rows, delimiter, quote_char, eol_char)
+        decompress_impl(&mut decoder, n_rows, separator, quote_char, eol_char)
     } else {
         None
     }
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/write.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/write.rs
index f0db058c3855..0752cfac872b 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/write.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/write.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ pub enum QuoteStyle {
     /// This puts quotes around every field. Always.
     Always,
     /// This puts quotes around fields only when necessary.
-    // They are necessary when fields contain a quote, delimiter or record terminator. Quotes are also necessary when writing an empty record (which is indistinguishable from a record with one empty field).
+    // They are necessary when fields contain a quote, separator or record terminator. Quotes are also necessary when writing an empty record (which is indistinguishable from a record with one empty field).
     // This is the default.
     #[default]
     Necessary,
@@ -69,9 +69,9 @@ where
         self
     }
 
-    /// Set the CSV file's column delimiter as a byte character.
-    pub fn with_delimiter(mut self, delimiter: u8) -> Self {
-        self.options.delimiter = delimiter;
+    /// Set the CSV file's column separator as a byte character.
+    pub fn with_separator(mut self, separator: u8) -> Self {
+        self.options.separator = separator;
         self
     }
 
@@ -114,8 +114,8 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Set the single byte character used for quoting.
-    pub fn with_quoting_char(mut self, char: u8) -> Self {
-        self.options.quote = char;
+    pub fn with_quote_char(mut self, char: u8) -> Self {
+        self.options.quote_char = char;
         self
     }
 
diff --git a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/write_impl.rs b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/write_impl.rs
index 699bffbec1cf..edf15bc9c730 100644
--- a/crates/polars-io/src/csv/write_impl.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-io/src/csv/write_impl.rs
@@ -24,24 +24,24 @@ fn fmt_and_escape_str(f: &mut Vec<u8>, v: &str, options: &SerializeOptions) -> s
     if options.quote_style == QuoteStyle::Never {
         return write!(f, "{v}");
     }
-    let quote = options.quote as char;
+    let quote = options.quote_char as char;
     if v.is_empty() {
         return write!(f, "{quote}{quote}");
     }
-    let needs_escaping = memchr(options.quote, v.as_bytes()).is_some();
+    let needs_escaping = memchr(options.quote_char, v.as_bytes()).is_some();
     if needs_escaping {
         let replaced = unsafe {
             // Replace from single quote " to double quote "".
             v.replace(
-                std::str::from_utf8_unchecked(&[options.quote]),
-                std::str::from_utf8_unchecked(&[options.quote, options.quote]),
+                std::str::from_utf8_unchecked(&[options.quote_char]),
+                std::str::from_utf8_unchecked(&[options.quote_char, options.quote_char]),
             )
         };
         return write!(f, "{quote}{replaced}{quote}");
     }
     let surround_with_quotes = match options.quote_style {
         QuoteStyle::Always | QuoteStyle::NonNumeric => true,
-        QuoteStyle::Necessary => memchr2(options.delimiter, b'\n', v.as_bytes()).is_some(),
+        QuoteStyle::Necessary => memchr2(options.separator, b'\n', v.as_bytes()).is_some(),
         QuoteStyle::Never => false,
     };
 
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ unsafe fn write_anyvalue(
         },
         _ => {
             // Then we deal with the numeric types
-            let quote = options.quote as char;
+            let quote = options.quote_char as char;
 
             let mut end_with_quote = matches!(options.quote_style, QuoteStyle::Always);
             if end_with_quote {
@@ -238,10 +238,10 @@ pub struct SerializeOptions {
     pub datetime_format: Option<String>,
     /// Used for [`DataType::Float64`] and [`DataType::Float32`].
     pub float_precision: Option<usize>,
-    /// Used as separator/delimiter.
-    pub delimiter: u8,
+    /// Used as separator.
+    pub separator: u8,
     /// Quoting character.
-    pub quote: u8,
+    pub quote_char: u8,
     /// Null value representation.
     pub null: String,
     /// String appended after every row.
@@ -256,8 +256,8 @@ impl Default for SerializeOptions {
             time_format: None,
             datetime_format: None,
             float_precision: None,
-            delimiter: b',',
-            quote: b'"',
+            separator: b',',
+            quote_char: b'"',
             null: String::new(),
             line_terminator: "\n".into(),
             quote_style: Default::default(),
@@ -302,10 +302,10 @@ pub(crate) fn write<W: Write>(
 
     // Check that the double quote is valid UTF-8.
     polars_ensure!(
-        std::str::from_utf8(&[options.quote, options.quote]).is_ok(),
+        std::str::from_utf8(&[options.quote_char, options.quote_char]).is_ok(),
         ComputeError: "quote char results in invalid utf-8",
     );
-    let delimiter = char::from(options.delimiter);
+    let separator = char::from(options.separator);
 
     let (datetime_formats, time_zones): (Vec<&str>, Vec<Option<Tz>>) = df
         .get_columns()
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ pub(crate) fn write<W: Write>(
                     }
                     let current_ptr = col as *const SeriesIter;
                     if current_ptr != last_ptr {
-                        write!(&mut write_buffer, "{delimiter}").unwrap()
+                        write!(&mut write_buffer, "{separator}").unwrap()
                     }
                 }
                 if !finished {
@@ -488,7 +488,7 @@ pub(crate) fn write_header<W: Write>(
     }
     writer.write_all(
         escaped_names
-            .join(std::str::from_utf8(&[options.delimiter]).unwrap())
+            .join(std::str::from_utf8(&[options.separator]).unwrap())
             .as_bytes(),
     )?;
     writer.write_all(options.line_terminator.as_bytes())?;
diff --git a/crates/polars-lazy/src/physical_plan/executors/scan/csv.rs b/crates/polars-lazy/src/physical_plan/executors/scan/csv.rs
index 80b2b2e3aa95..8542432b31bc 100644
--- a/crates/polars-lazy/src/physical_plan/executors/scan/csv.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-lazy/src/physical_plan/executors/scan/csv.rs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ impl CsvExec {
             .unwrap()
             .has_header(self.options.has_header)
             .with_dtypes(Some(self.schema.clone()))
-            .with_delimiter(self.options.delimiter)
+            .with_separator(self.options.separator)
             .with_ignore_errors(self.options.ignore_errors)
             .with_skip_rows(self.options.skip_rows)
             .with_n_rows(n_rows)
diff --git a/crates/polars-lazy/src/scan/csv.rs b/crates/polars-lazy/src/scan/csv.rs
index 54360f045f11..f044c96beab8 100644
--- a/crates/polars-lazy/src/scan/csv.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-lazy/src/scan/csv.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use crate::prelude::*;
 #[cfg(feature = "csv")]
 pub struct LazyCsvReader<'a> {
     path: PathBuf,
-    delimiter: u8,
+    separator: u8,
     has_header: bool,
     ignore_errors: bool,
     skip_rows: usize,
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ impl<'a> LazyCsvReader<'a> {
     pub fn new(path: impl AsRef<Path>) -> Self {
         LazyCsvReader {
             path: path.as_ref().to_owned(),
-            delimiter: b',',
+            separator: b',',
             has_header: true,
             ignore_errors: false,
             skip_rows: 0,
@@ -134,10 +134,10 @@ impl<'a> LazyCsvReader<'a> {
         self
     }
 
-    /// Set the CSV file's column delimiter as a byte character
+    /// Set the CSV file's column separator as a byte character
     #[must_use]
-    pub fn with_delimiter(mut self, delimiter: u8) -> Self {
-        self.delimiter = delimiter;
+    pub fn with_separator(mut self, separator: u8) -> Self {
+        self.separator = separator;
         self
     }
 
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ impl<'a> LazyCsvReader<'a> {
 
         let (schema, _, _) = infer_file_schema(
             &reader_bytes,
-            self.delimiter,
+            self.separator,
             self.infer_schema_length,
             self.has_header,
             // we set it to None and modify them after the schema is updated
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ impl LazyFileListReader for LazyCsvReader<'_> {
     fn finish_no_glob(self) -> PolarsResult<LazyFrame> {
         let mut lf: LazyFrame = LogicalPlanBuilder::scan_csv(
             self.path,
-            self.delimiter,
+            self.separator,
             self.has_header,
             self.ignore_errors,
             self.skip_rows,
diff --git a/crates/polars-pipe/src/executors/sinks/file_sink.rs b/crates/polars-pipe/src/executors/sinks/file_sink.rs
index 5c5ff46acbb9..67dea31c355b 100644
--- a/crates/polars-pipe/src/executors/sinks/file_sink.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-pipe/src/executors/sinks/file_sink.rs
@@ -182,9 +182,9 @@ impl CsvSink {
         let file = std::fs::File::create(path)?;
         let writer = CsvWriter::new(file)
             .has_header(options.has_header)
-            .with_delimiter(options.serialize_options.delimiter)
+            .with_separator(options.serialize_options.separator)
             .with_line_terminator(options.serialize_options.line_terminator)
-            .with_quoting_char(options.serialize_options.quote)
+            .with_quote_char(options.serialize_options.quote_char)
             .with_batch_size(options.batch_size)
             .with_datetime_format(options.serialize_options.datetime_format)
             .with_date_format(options.serialize_options.date_format)
diff --git a/crates/polars-pipe/src/executors/sources/csv.rs b/crates/polars-pipe/src/executors/sources/csv.rs
index 1053ff1d236c..b1297c39e07c 100644
--- a/crates/polars-pipe/src/executors/sources/csv.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-pipe/src/executors/sources/csv.rs
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ impl CsvSource {
             .unwrap()
             .has_header(options.has_header)
             .with_dtypes(Some(self.schema.clone()))
-            .with_delimiter(options.delimiter)
+            .with_separator(options.separator)
             .with_ignore_errors(options.ignore_errors)
             .with_skip_rows(options.skip_rows)
             .with_n_rows(n_rows)
diff --git a/crates/polars-plan/src/logical_plan/builder.rs b/crates/polars-plan/src/logical_plan/builder.rs
index 0194d4fb19a1..4327a8755902 100644
--- a/crates/polars-plan/src/logical_plan/builder.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-plan/src/logical_plan/builder.rs
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ impl LogicalPlanBuilder {
     #[cfg(feature = "csv")]
     pub fn scan_csv<P: Into<std::path::PathBuf>>(
         path: P,
-        delimiter: u8,
+        separator: u8,
         has_header: bool,
         ignore_errors: bool,
         mut skip_rows: usize,
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ impl LogicalPlanBuilder {
         // this needs a way to estimated bytes/rows.
         let (mut inferred_schema, rows_read, bytes_read) = infer_file_schema(
             &reader_bytes,
-            delimiter,
+            separator,
             infer_schema_length,
             has_header,
             schema_overwrite,
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ impl LogicalPlanBuilder {
             scan_type: FileScan::Csv {
                 options: CsvParserOptions {
                     has_header,
-                    delimiter,
+                    separator,
                     ignore_errors,
                     skip_rows,
                     low_memory,
diff --git a/crates/polars-plan/src/logical_plan/options.rs b/crates/polars-plan/src/logical_plan/options.rs
index 40e2d7ec0262..795107b49cf0 100644
--- a/crates/polars-plan/src/logical_plan/options.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-plan/src/logical_plan/options.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ pub type FileCount = u32;
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
 #[cfg_attr(feature = "serde", derive(Serialize, Deserialize))]
 pub struct CsvParserOptions {
-    pub delimiter: u8,
+    pub separator: u8,
     pub comment_char: Option<u8>,
     pub quote_char: Option<u8>,
     pub eol_char: u8,
diff --git a/crates/polars/src/docs/eager.rs b/crates/polars/src/docs/eager.rs
index 0643f972fa92..8e2c91f050a5 100644
--- a/crates/polars/src/docs/eager.rs
+++ b/crates/polars/src/docs/eager.rs
@@ -577,7 +577,7 @@
 //! // write DataFrame to file
 //! CsvWriter::new(&mut file)
 //!     .has_header(true)
-//!     .with_delimiter(b',')
+//!     .with_separator(b',')
 //!     .finish(df);
 //! # Ok(())
 //! # }
diff --git a/crates/polars/src/docs/lazy.rs b/crates/polars/src/docs/lazy.rs
index 44b536914ce1..4b737fbc027d 100644
--- a/crates/polars/src/docs/lazy.rs
+++ b/crates/polars/src/docs/lazy.rs
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@
 //!
 //!  let df = LazyCsvReader::new("reddit.csv")
 //!     .has_header(true)
-//!     .with_delimiter(b',')
+//!     .with_separator(b',')
 //!     .finish()?
 //!     .group_by([col("comment_karma")])
 //!     .agg([col("name").n_unique().alias("unique_names"), col("link_karma").max()])
diff --git a/crates/polars/tests/it/io/csv.rs b/crates/polars/tests/it/io/csv.rs
index 9df2115ed8d8..710ad4712ae7 100644
--- a/crates/polars/tests/it/io/csv.rs
+++ b/crates/polars/tests/it/io/csv.rs
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ fn test_tab_sep() {
     let file = Cursor::new(csv);
     let df = CsvReader::new(file)
         .infer_schema(Some(100))
-        .with_delimiter(b'\t')
+        .with_separator(b'\t')
         .has_header(false)
         .with_ignore_errors(true)
         .finish()
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ fn test_skip_rows() -> PolarsResult<()> {
     let df = CsvReader::new(file)
         .has_header(false)
         .with_skip_rows(3)
-        .with_delimiter(b' ')
+        .with_separator(b' ')
         .finish()?;
 
     dbg!(&df);
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ fn test_projection_idx() -> PolarsResult<()> {
     let df = CsvReader::new(file)
         .has_header(false)
         .with_projection(Some(vec![4, 5]))
-        .with_delimiter(b' ')
+        .with_separator(b' ')
         .finish()?;
 
     assert_eq!(df.width(), 2);
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ fn test_projection_idx() -> PolarsResult<()> {
     let out = CsvReader::new(file)
         .has_header(false)
         .with_projection(Some(vec![4, 6]))
-        .with_delimiter(b' ')
+        .with_separator(b' ')
         .finish();
 
     assert!(out.is_err());
@@ -788,7 +788,7 @@ fn test_infer_schema_eol() -> PolarsResult<()> {
 }
 
 #[test]
-fn test_whitespace_delimiters() -> PolarsResult<()> {
+fn test_whitespace_separators() -> PolarsResult<()> {
     let tsv = "\ta\tb\tc\n1\ta1\tb1\tc1\n2\ta2\tb2\tc2\n".to_string();
 
     let contents = vec![
@@ -799,7 +799,7 @@ fn test_whitespace_delimiters() -> PolarsResult<()> {
 
     for (content, sep) in contents {
         let file = Cursor::new(&content);
-        let df = CsvReader::new(file).with_delimiter(sep).finish()?;
+        let df = CsvReader::new(file).with_separator(sep).finish()?;
 
         assert_eq!(df.shape(), (2, 4));
         assert_eq!(df.get_column_names(), &["", "a", "b", "c"]);
@@ -828,7 +828,7 @@ fn test_tsv_header_offset() -> PolarsResult<()> {
     let file = Cursor::new(csv);
     let df = CsvReader::new(file)
         .truncate_ragged_lines(true)
-        .with_delimiter(b'\t')
+        .with_separator(b'\t')
         .finish()?;
 
     assert_eq!(df.shape(), (3, 2));
@@ -859,7 +859,7 @@ fn test_null_values_infer_schema() -> PolarsResult<()> {
 fn test_comma_separated_field_in_tsv() -> PolarsResult<()> {
     let csv = "first\tsecond\n1\t2.3,2.4\n3\t4.5,4.6\n";
     let file = Cursor::new(csv);
-    let df = CsvReader::new(file).with_delimiter(b'\t').finish()?;
+    let df = CsvReader::new(file).with_separator(b'\t').finish()?;
     assert_eq!(df.dtypes(), &[DataType::Int64, DataType::Utf8]);
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -1096,7 +1096,7 @@ fn test_try_parse_dates_3380() -> PolarsResult<()> {
 46.685;7.953;2022-05-10T08:07:12Z;8.8;0.00";
     let file = Cursor::new(csv);
     let df = CsvReader::new(file)
-        .with_delimiter(b';')
+        .with_separator(b';')
         .with_try_parse_dates(true)
         .finish()?;
     assert_eq!(df.column("validdate")?.null_count(), 0);
diff --git a/docs/src/rust/getting-started/reading-writing.rs b/docs/src/rust/getting-started/reading-writing.rs
index 4fe035d34f82..54b538ad93d0 100644
--- a/docs/src/rust/getting-started/reading-writing.rs
+++ b/docs/src/rust/getting-started/reading-writing.rs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
     let mut file = File::create("docs/data/output.csv").expect("could not create file");
     CsvWriter::new(&mut file)
         .has_header(true)
-        .with_delimiter(b',')
+        .with_separator(b',')
         .finish(&mut df);
     let df_csv = CsvReader::from_path("docs/data/output.csv")?
         .infer_schema(None)
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
     let mut file = File::create("docs/data/output.csv").expect("could not create file");
     CsvWriter::new(&mut file)
         .has_header(true)
-        .with_delimiter(b',')
+        .with_separator(b',')
         .finish(&mut df);
     let df_csv = CsvReader::from_path("docs/data/output.csv")?
         .infer_schema(None)
diff --git a/examples/read_csv/src/main.rs b/examples/read_csv/src/main.rs
index 7d1f555c8397..ca4fbbd7730c 100644
--- a/examples/read_csv/src/main.rs
+++ b/examples/read_csv/src/main.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ fn main() -> PolarsResult<()> {
         .unwrap();
     let file = Box::new(file) as Box<dyn MmapBytesReader>;
     let _df = CsvReader::new(file)
-        .with_delimiter(b'|')
+        .with_separator(b'|')
         .has_header(false)
         .with_chunk_size(10)
         .batched_mmap(None)
diff --git a/py-polars/polars/dataframe/frame.py b/py-polars/polars/dataframe/frame.py
index bec784afa305..e11318671575 100644
--- a/py-polars/polars/dataframe/frame.py
+++ b/py-polars/polars/dataframe/frame.py
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
 from polars.exceptions import NoRowsReturnedError, TooManyRowsReturnedError
 from polars.functions import col, lit
 from polars.io._utils import _is_glob_pattern, _is_local_file
+from polars.io.csv._utils import _check_arg_is_1byte
 from polars.io.spreadsheet._write_utils import (
     _unpack_multi_column_dict,
     _xl_apply_conditional_formats,
@@ -657,7 +658,7 @@ def _read_csv(
         columns: Sequence[int] | Sequence[str] | None = None,
         separator: str = ",",
         comment_char: str | None = None,
-        quote_char: str | None = r'"',
+        quote_char: str | None = '"',
         skip_rows: int = 0,
         dtypes: None | (SchemaDict | Sequence[PolarsDataType]) = None,
         schema: None | SchemaDict = None,
@@ -2443,7 +2444,7 @@ def write_csv(
         has_header: bool = ...,
         separator: str = ...,
         line_terminator: str = ...,
-        quote: str = ...,
+        quote_char: str = ...,
         batch_size: int = ...,
         datetime_format: str | None = ...,
         date_format: str | None = ...,
@@ -2462,7 +2463,7 @@ def write_csv(
         has_header: bool = ...,
         separator: str = ...,
         line_terminator: str = ...,
-        quote: str = ...,
+        quote_char: str = ...,
         batch_size: int = ...,
         datetime_format: str | None = ...,
         date_format: str | None = ...,
@@ -2473,6 +2474,7 @@ def write_csv(
     ) -> None:
         ...
 
+    @deprecate_renamed_parameter("quote", "quote_char", version="0.19.8")
     def write_csv(
         self,
         file: BytesIO | TextIOWrapper | str | Path | None = None,
@@ -2480,7 +2482,7 @@ def write_csv(
         has_header: bool = True,
         separator: str = ",",
         line_terminator: str = "\n",
-        quote: str = '"',
+        quote_char: str = '"',
         batch_size: int = 1024,
         datetime_format: str | None = None,
         date_format: str | None = None,
@@ -2503,7 +2505,7 @@ def write_csv(
             Separate CSV fields with this symbol.
         line_terminator
             String used to end each row.
-        quote
+        quote_char
             Byte to use as quoting character.
         batch_size
             Number of rows that will be processed per thread.
@@ -2530,7 +2532,7 @@ def write_csv(
             Determines the quoting strategy used.
             - necessary (default): This puts quotes around fields only when necessary.
             They are necessary when fields contain a quote,
-            delimiter or record terminator.
+            separator or record terminator.
             Quotes are also necessary when writing an empty record
             (which is indistinguishable from a record with one empty field).
             This is the default.
@@ -2558,10 +2560,8 @@ def write_csv(
         >>> df.write_csv(path, separator=",")
 
         """
-        if len(separator) != 1:
-            raise ValueError("only single byte separator is allowed")
-        if len(quote) != 1:
-            raise ValueError("only single byte quote char is allowed")
+        _check_arg_is_1byte("separator", separator, can_be_empty=False)
+        _check_arg_is_1byte("quote_char", quote_char, can_be_empty=True)
         if not null_value:
             null_value = None
 
@@ -2579,7 +2579,7 @@ def write_csv(
             has_header,
             ord(separator),
             line_terminator,
-            ord(quote),
+            ord(quote_char),
             batch_size,
             datetime_format,
             date_format,
diff --git a/py-polars/polars/io/csv/batched_reader.py b/py-polars/polars/io/csv/batched_reader.py
index 8d32415de850..db787162aed1 100644
--- a/py-polars/polars/io/csv/batched_reader.py
+++ b/py-polars/polars/io/csv/batched_reader.py
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ def __init__(
         columns: Sequence[int] | Sequence[str] | None = None,
         separator: str = ",",
         comment_char: str | None = None,
-        quote_char: str | None = r'"',
+        quote_char: str | None = '"',
         skip_rows: int = 0,
         dtypes: None | (SchemaDict | Sequence[PolarsDataType]) = None,
         null_values: str | Sequence[str] | dict[str, str] | None = None,
diff --git a/py-polars/polars/io/csv/functions.py b/py-polars/polars/io/csv/functions.py
index fd4cc0cf654f..95c006d093ed 100644
--- a/py-polars/polars/io/csv/functions.py
+++ b/py-polars/polars/io/csv/functions.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def read_csv(
     new_columns: Sequence[str] | None = None,
     separator: str = ",",
     comment_char: str | None = None,
-    quote_char: str | None = r'"',
+    quote_char: str | None = '"',
     skip_rows: int = 0,
     dtypes: Mapping[str, PolarsDataType] | Sequence[PolarsDataType] | None = None,
     schema: SchemaDict | None = None,
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def read_csv(
     raise_if_empty: bool = True,
     truncate_ragged_lines: bool = False,
 ) -> DataFrame:
-    """
+    r"""
     Read a CSV file into a DataFrame.
 
     Parameters
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ def read_csv(
         list is shorter than the width of the DataFrame the remaining
         columns will have their original name.
     separator
-        Single byte character to use as delimiter in the file.
+        Single byte character to use as separator in the file.
     comment_char
         Single byte character that indicates the start of a comment line,
         for instance ``#``.
@@ -159,7 +159,9 @@ def read_csv(
         Set the sample size. This is used to sample statistics to estimate the
         allocation needed.
     eol_char
-        Single byte end of line character.
+        Single byte end of line character (default: `\n`). When encountering a file
+        with windows line endings (`\r\n`), one can go with the default `\n`. The extra
+        `\r` will be removed when processed.
     raise_if_empty
         When there is no data in the source,``NoDataError`` is raised. If this parameter
         is set to False, an empty DataFrame (with no columns) is returned instead.
@@ -404,7 +406,7 @@ def read_csv_batched(
     new_columns: Sequence[str] | None = None,
     separator: str = ",",
     comment_char: str | None = None,
-    quote_char: str | None = r'"',
+    quote_char: str | None = '"',
     skip_rows: int = 0,
     dtypes: Mapping[str, PolarsDataType] | Sequence[PolarsDataType] | None = None,
     null_values: str | Sequence[str] | dict[str, str] | None = None,
@@ -425,7 +427,7 @@ def read_csv_batched(
     eol_char: str = "\n",
     raise_if_empty: bool = True,
 ) -> BatchedCsvReader:
-    """
+    r"""
     Read a CSV file in batches.
 
     Upon creation of the ``BatchedCsvReader``, Polars will gather statistics and
@@ -452,7 +454,7 @@ def read_csv_batched(
         list is shorter than the width of the DataFrame the remaining
         columns will have their original name.
     separator
-        Single byte character to use as delimiter in the file.
+        Single byte character to use as separator in the file.
     comment_char
         Single byte character that indicates the start of a comment line,
         for instance ``#``.
@@ -517,7 +519,9 @@ def read_csv_batched(
         Set the sample size. This is used to sample statistics to estimate the
         allocation needed.
     eol_char
-        Single byte end of line character.
+        Single byte end of line character (default: `\n`). When encountering a file
+        with windows line endings (`\r\n`), one can go with the default `\n`. The extra
+        `\r` will be removed when processed.
     raise_if_empty
         When there is no data in the source,``NoDataError`` is raised. If this parameter
         is set to False, ``None`` will be returned from ``next_batches(n)`` instead.
@@ -533,7 +537,9 @@ def read_csv_batched(
     Examples
     --------
     >>> reader = pl.read_csv_batched(
-    ...     "./tpch/tables_scale_100/lineitem.tbl", separator="|", try_parse_dates=True
+    ...     "./tpch/tables_scale_100/lineitem.tbl",
+    ...     separator="|",
+    ...     try_parse_dates=True,
     ... )  # doctest: +SKIP
     >>> batches = reader.next_batches(5)  # doctest: +SKIP
     >>> for df in batches:  # doctest: +SKIP
@@ -694,7 +700,7 @@ def scan_csv(
     has_header: bool = True,
     separator: str = ",",
     comment_char: str | None = None,
-    quote_char: str | None = r'"',
+    quote_char: str | None = '"',
     skip_rows: int = 0,
     dtypes: SchemaDict | Sequence[PolarsDataType] | None = None,
     schema: SchemaDict | None = None,
@@ -717,7 +723,7 @@ def scan_csv(
     raise_if_empty: bool = True,
     truncate_ragged_lines: bool = False,
 ) -> LazyFrame:
-    """
+    r"""
     Lazily read from a CSV file or multiple files via glob patterns.
 
     This allows the query optimizer to push down predicates and
@@ -734,7 +740,7 @@ def scan_csv(
         following format: ``column_x``, with ``x`` being an
         enumeration over every column in the dataset starting at 1.
     separator
-        Single byte character to use as delimiter in the file.
+        Single byte character to use as separator in the file.
     comment_char
         Single byte character that indicates the start of a comment line,
         for instance ``#``.
@@ -796,7 +802,9 @@ def scan_csv(
         can be inferred, as well as a handful of others. If this does not succeed,
         the column remains of data type ``pl.Utf8``.
     eol_char
-        Single byte end of line character
+        Single byte end of line character (default: `\n`). When encountering a file
+        with windows line endings (`\r\n`), one can go with the default `\n`. The extra
+        `\r` will be removed when processed.
     new_columns
         Provide an explicit list of string column names to use (for example, when
         scanning a headerless CSV file). If the given list is shorter than the width of
diff --git a/py-polars/polars/lazyframe/frame.py b/py-polars/polars/lazyframe/frame.py
index 9fe0e7893b59..1cef1bfd50f3 100644
--- a/py-polars/polars/lazyframe/frame.py
+++ b/py-polars/polars/lazyframe/frame.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
 )
 from polars.dependencies import dataframe_api_compat, subprocess
 from polars.io._utils import _is_local_file, _is_supported_cloud
+from polars.io.csv._utils import _check_arg_is_1byte
 from polars.io.ipc.anonymous_scan import _scan_ipc_fsspec
 from polars.io.parquet.anonymous_scan import _scan_parquet_fsspec
 from polars.lazyframe.group_by import LazyGroupBy
@@ -316,7 +317,7 @@ def _scan_csv(
         has_header: bool = True,
         separator: str = ",",
         comment_char: str | None = None,
-        quote_char: str | None = r'"',
+        quote_char: str | None = '"',
         skip_rows: int = 0,
         dtypes: SchemaDict | None = None,
         schema: SchemaDict | None = None,
@@ -2026,6 +2027,7 @@ def sink_ipc(
             maintain_order=maintain_order,
         )
 
+    @deprecate_renamed_parameter("quote", "quote_char", version="0.19.8")
     def sink_csv(
         self,
         path: str | Path,
@@ -2033,7 +2035,7 @@ def sink_csv(
         has_header: bool = True,
         separator: str = ",",
         line_terminator: str = "\n",
-        quote: str = '"',
+        quote_char: str = '"',
         batch_size: int = 1024,
         datetime_format: str | None = None,
         date_format: str | None = None,
@@ -2064,7 +2066,7 @@ def sink_csv(
             Separate CSV fields with this symbol.
         line_terminator
             String used to end each row.
-        quote
+        quote_char
             Byte to use as quoting character.
         batch_size
             Number of rows that will be processed per thread.
@@ -2097,7 +2099,8 @@ def sink_csv(
             This is the default.
             - always: This puts quotes around every field. Always.
             - never: This never puts quotes around fields, even if that results in
-            invalid CSV data (e.g.: by not quoting strings containing the separator).
+            invalid CSV data (e.g.: by not quoting strings containing the
+            separator).
             - non_numeric: This puts quotes around all fields that are non-numeric.
             Namely, when writing a field that does not parse as a valid float
             or integer, then quotes will be used even if they aren`t strictly
@@ -2128,10 +2131,8 @@ def sink_csv(
         >>> lf.sink_csv("out.csv")  # doctest: +SKIP
 
         """
-        if len(separator) != 1:
-            raise ValueError("only single byte separator is allowed")
-        if len(quote) != 1:
-            raise ValueError("only single byte quote char is allowed")
+        _check_arg_is_1byte("separator", separator, can_be_empty=False)
+        _check_arg_is_1byte("quote_char", quote_char, can_be_empty=False)
         if not null_value:
             null_value = None
 
@@ -2149,7 +2150,7 @@ def sink_csv(
             has_header=has_header,
             separator=ord(separator),
             line_terminator=line_terminator,
-            quote=ord(quote),
+            quote_char=ord(quote_char),
             batch_size=batch_size,
             datetime_format=datetime_format,
             date_format=date_format,
diff --git a/py-polars/src/batched_csv.rs b/py-polars/src/batched_csv.rs
index 6114fb43a675..63482f5e1322 100644
--- a/py-polars/src/batched_csv.rs
+++ b/py-polars/src/batched_csv.rs
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ impl PyBatchedCsv {
             .infer_schema(infer_schema_length)
             .has_header(has_header)
             .with_n_rows(n_rows)
-            .with_delimiter(separator.as_bytes()[0])
+            .with_separator(separator.as_bytes()[0])
             .with_skip_rows(skip_rows)
             .with_ignore_errors(ignore_errors)
             .with_projection(projection)
diff --git a/py-polars/src/dataframe.rs b/py-polars/src/dataframe.rs
index 6a3e24a51340..c94b48a025b7 100644
--- a/py-polars/src/dataframe.rs
+++ b/py-polars/src/dataframe.rs
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ impl PyDataFrame {
             .infer_schema(infer_schema_length)
             .has_header(has_header)
             .with_n_rows(n_rows)
-            .with_delimiter(separator.as_bytes()[0])
+            .with_separator(separator.as_bytes()[0])
             .with_skip_rows(skip_rows)
             .with_ignore_errors(ignore_errors)
             .with_projection(projection)
@@ -589,7 +589,7 @@ impl PyDataFrame {
         has_header: bool,
         separator: u8,
         line_terminator: String,
-        quote: u8,
+        quote_char: u8,
         batch_size: usize,
         datetime_format: Option<String>,
         date_format: Option<String>,
@@ -606,9 +606,9 @@ impl PyDataFrame {
                 // No need for a buffered writer, because the csv writer does internal buffering.
                 CsvWriter::new(f)
                     .has_header(has_header)
-                    .with_delimiter(separator)
+                    .with_separator(separator)
                     .with_line_terminator(line_terminator)
-                    .with_quoting_char(quote)
+                    .with_quote_char(quote_char)
                     .with_batch_size(batch_size)
                     .with_datetime_format(datetime_format)
                     .with_date_format(date_format)
@@ -623,9 +623,9 @@ impl PyDataFrame {
             let mut buf = get_file_like(py_f, true)?;
             CsvWriter::new(&mut buf)
                 .has_header(has_header)
-                .with_delimiter(separator)
+                .with_separator(separator)
                 .with_line_terminator(line_terminator)
-                .with_quoting_char(quote)
+                .with_quote_char(quote_char)
                 .with_batch_size(batch_size)
                 .with_datetime_format(datetime_format)
                 .with_date_format(date_format)
diff --git a/py-polars/src/lazyframe.rs b/py-polars/src/lazyframe.rs
index a60feef70a58..d2f0bd3465d6 100644
--- a/py-polars/src/lazyframe.rs
+++ b/py-polars/src/lazyframe.rs
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ impl PyLazyFrame {
         let null_values = null_values.map(|w| w.0);
         let comment_char = comment_char.map(|s| s.as_bytes()[0]);
         let quote_char = quote_char.map(|s| s.as_bytes()[0]);
-        let delimiter = separator.as_bytes()[0];
+        let separator = separator.as_bytes()[0];
         let eol_char = eol_char.as_bytes()[0];
         let row_count = row_count.map(|(name, offset)| RowCount { name, offset });
 
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ impl PyLazyFrame {
         });
         let mut r = LazyCsvReader::new(path)
             .with_infer_schema_length(infer_schema_length)
-            .with_delimiter(delimiter)
+            .with_separator(separator)
             .has_header(has_header)
             .with_ignore_errors(ignore_errors)
             .with_skip_rows(skip_rows)
@@ -542,7 +542,7 @@ impl PyLazyFrame {
 
     #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
     #[cfg(all(feature = "streaming", feature = "csv"))]
-    #[pyo3(signature = (path, has_header, separator, line_terminator, quote, batch_size, datetime_format, date_format, time_format, float_precision, null_value, quote_style, maintain_order))]
+    #[pyo3(signature = (path, has_header, separator, line_terminator, quote_char, batch_size, datetime_format, date_format, time_format, float_precision, null_value, quote_style, maintain_order))]
     fn sink_csv(
         &self,
         py: Python,
@@ -550,7 +550,7 @@ impl PyLazyFrame {
         has_header: bool,
         separator: u8,
         line_terminator: String,
-        quote: u8,
+        quote_char: u8,
         batch_size: usize,
         datetime_format: Option<String>,
         date_format: Option<String>,
@@ -568,8 +568,8 @@ impl PyLazyFrame {
             time_format,
             datetime_format,
             float_precision,
-            delimiter: separator,
-            quote,
+            separator,
+            quote_char,
             null: null_value,
             line_terminator,
             quote_style,
diff --git a/py-polars/tests/unit/io/test_csv.py b/py-polars/tests/unit/io/test_csv.py
index 0afa8b30b3cd..987edbf95841 100644
--- a/py-polars/tests/unit/io/test_csv.py
+++ b/py-polars/tests/unit/io/test_csv.py
@@ -584,7 +584,7 @@ def test_csv_quote_char() -> None:
 
     # non-standard quote char
     df = pl.DataFrame({"x": ["", "0*0", "xyz"]})
-    csv_data = df.write_csv(quote="*")
+    csv_data = df.write_csv(quote_char="*")
 
     assert csv_data == "x\n**\n*0**0*\nxyz\n"
     assert_frame_equal(df, pl.read_csv(io.StringIO(csv_data), quote_char="*"))
@@ -722,7 +722,7 @@ def test_empty_string_missing_round_trip() -> None:
         assert_frame_equal(df, df_read)
 
 
-def test_write_csv_delimiter() -> None:
+def test_write_csv_separator() -> None:
     df = pl.DataFrame({"a": [1, 2, 3], "b": [1, 2, 3]})
     f = io.BytesIO()
     df.write_csv(f, separator="\t")
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ def test_glob_csv(df_no_lists: pl.DataFrame, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     assert pl.read_csv(path_glob).shape == (3, 11)
 
 
-def test_csv_whitespace_delimiter_at_start_do_not_skip() -> None:
+def test_csv_whitespace_separator_at_start_do_not_skip() -> None:
     csv = "\t\t\t\t0\t1"
     assert pl.read_csv(csv.encode(), separator="\t", has_header=False).to_dict(
         False
@@ -881,7 +881,7 @@ def test_csv_whitespace_delimiter_at_start_do_not_skip() -> None:
     }
 
 
-def test_csv_whitespace_delimiter_at_end_do_not_skip() -> None:
+def test_csv_whitespace_separator_at_end_do_not_skip() -> None:
     csv = "0\t1\t\t\t\t"
     assert pl.read_csv(csv.encode(), separator="\t", has_header=False).to_dict(
         False
@@ -1504,7 +1504,9 @@ class TemporalFormats(TypedDict):
         "2.0,a,bc,2,false,,2077-07-05T03:01:00,03:01:00\n"
         ',"hello,3,,2077-07-05,2077-07-05T03:01:00,\n'
     )
-    assert df.write_csv(quote_style="non_numeric", quote="8", **temporal_formats) == (
+    assert df.write_csv(
+        quote_style="non_numeric", quote_char="8", **temporal_formats
+    ) == (
         "8float8,8string8,8int8,8bool8,8date8,8datetime8,8time8\n"
         "1.0,8a8,1,8true8,82077-07-058,,803:01:008\n"
         "2.0,8a,bc8,2,8false8,,82077-07-05T03:01:008,803:01:008\n"
diff --git a/py-polars/tests/unit/streaming/test_streaming_io.py b/py-polars/tests/unit/streaming/test_streaming_io.py
index 304041f2f259..3f0ea1f77a45 100644
--- a/py-polars/tests/unit/streaming/test_streaming_io.py
+++ b/py-polars/tests/unit/streaming/test_streaming_io.py
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ def test_sink_csv_with_options() -> None:
             has_header=False,
             separator=";",
             line_terminator="|",
-            quote="$",
+            quote_char="$",
             batch_size=42,
             datetime_format="%Y",
             date_format="%d",
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ def test_sink_csv_with_options() -> None:
             has_header=False,
             separator=ord(";"),
             line_terminator="|",
-            quote=ord("$"),
+            quote_char=ord("$"),
             batch_size=42,
             datetime_format="%Y",
             date_format="%d",
@@ -159,15 +159,15 @@ def test_sink_csv_with_options() -> None:
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(("value"), ["abc", ""])
 def test_sink_csv_exception_for_separator(value: str) -> None:
     df = pl.LazyFrame({"dummy": ["abc"]})
-    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="only single byte separator is allowed"):
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="should be a single byte character, but is"):
         df.sink_csv("path", separator=value)
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(("value"), ["abc", ""])
 def test_sink_csv_exception_for_quote(value: str) -> None:
     df = pl.LazyFrame({"dummy": ["abc"]})
-    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="only single byte quote char is allowed"):
-        df.sink_csv("path", quote=value)
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="should be a single byte character, but is"):
+        df.sink_csv("path", quote_char=value)
 
 
 def test_scan_csv_only_header_10792(io_files_path: Path) -> None: