Etymologically
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hillside

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 21:00. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈhɪlˌsaɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English hill + side,[2][3] first as inherited from Middle English hulle syde.[4][5] Dictionary.com takes the compound back to Old English.[6] Hill is from Old English hyll,[3][7] and side is from Old English sīde.[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The sloping side of a hill: Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century,[3] and the OED's first record is from before 1400, in the Middle English romance Arthur.[2] Merriam-Webster gives the 14th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its single meaning, the part of a hill between the top and the foot,[2][4] and is often used before another noun, as in hillside farms.[4] In the southern United States hillside navy or hillside tobacco was home-grown chewing or smoking tobacco, recorded from 1921 in West Virginia.[8]

Timeline

  • late 14th century – the slope of a hill.[3][6]
  • before 1400 – first OED quotation, in Arthur.[2]
  • 1921 – hillside navy, home-grown tobacco (West Virginia).[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The side or slope of a hill, between its top and its foot: They built the cottage on a sunny hillside.[9][4][2]

Usage notes

The Dictionary of American Regional English records hillside used before another noun, chiefly in the South and South Midland, of tobacco grown at home rather than bought, as in hillside navy.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Cassidy, Frederic G. & Joan Houston Hall (eds.) (1985–2002), Dictionary of American Regional English, vols I–IV, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins