Etymologically
Log in

hill

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:26. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hil, hulle,[2] inherited from Old English hyll,[3][2] from Proto-Germanic *hulni-,[3][2] the source also of Middle Dutch hille and Low German hull “hill”, and related to Old Norse hallr “stone”, Gothic hallus “rock” and Old Norse holmr “islet”.[3][2] It is from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to be prominent; hill”),[3] as are Latin collis “hill”, Greek kolōnós and Lithuanian kálnas.[4][5][6] The verb is from the noun.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A natural elevation of the earth's surface: about 1000, in Ælfric.[2][7] Middle English hulle, in south-western and Midland dialect, is from about 1175.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word formerly included mountains.[3] The OED notes that in Britain heights under about 2,000 feet are generally called hills, though in India ranges of 5,000 or even 10,000 feet are called hills beside the Himalayas.[3] A heap or mound of earth or sand is from 1297,[7] and a mound around a plant from 1572.[7] Over the hill, “past one's prime”, is from 1950.[7] Hilly and hillock are from the 14th century.[4] The verb, “to cover with soil in a hill”, is from the 1570s.[3] In American use the Hill is Capitol Hill, the US Congress.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – a hill.[2][7]
  • 1297 – a heap or mound.[7]
  • 14th century – hilly, hillock.[4]
  • 1570s – verb, to heap soil round.[3]
  • 1950 – over the hill.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A natural raised area of land, smaller than a mountain.
  2. A small heap or mound.
  3. A slope, especially of a road.
  4. the Hill: Capitol Hill, the US Congress.

Verb

  1. To form into a heap; to cover a plant with a mound of soil.

Word family

  • hiller
  • holm
  • column
  • culminate
  • hillock
  • hilly

Usage notes

In dialect, hill or hull also meant “to cover”, as of a roof or bedclothes;[9] Merriam-Webster takes this verb from Old Norse hylja “to hide, cover”, a different word.[5][9]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)