Hill

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hɪl/
• Rhymes: -ɪl
• Homophones: heel (in some dialects)

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English hyll ("hill"), from Proto-Germanic *hulliz ("stone, rock"), from Proto-Indo-European *kolən-, *koləm- ("top, hill, rock"). Cognate with Middle Dutch hille, hulle ("hill"), Low German hull ("hill"), Icelandic hóll ("hill"), Latin collis ("hill"), Lithuanian kalnas, Albanian kallumë ("big pile, tall heap"), Old English holm ("rising land, island"). More at holm.

Full definition of hill

Noun

1. An elevated location smaller than a mountain.The park is sheltered from the wind by a hill to the east.
2. A sloping road.You need to pick up speed to get up the hill that's coming up.
3. (US) A heap of earth surrounding a plant.
4. (US) A single cluster or group of plants growing close together, and having the earth heaped up about them.a hill of corn or potatoes
5. (baseball) The pitcher’s mound.

Derived terms

Verb

1. To form into a heap or mound.
2. To heap or draw earth around plants.
• 1977, Gene Weltfish, The Lost Universe: Pawnee Life and Culture, After the seeds were inserted, the earth was hilled up all around into a smooth little mound.