hill
/hɪl/
noun
Origin
Proto-Indo-European
*kel- — to be prominent, high
Overview
Meaning Now
- A naturally raised area of land, not as high or craggy as a mountain.
- A small heap or mound of earth or other material.
Literal older meaning
a protuberance or height
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
hyll
Earliest period
Old English
Journey
The word is part of a large PIE word family denoting heights, which also produced words like 'column' (from Latin 'columna') and 'culminate' (from Latin 'culmen').
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*kol-n-
“a rising ground”
- Proto-Germanic
*hulniz
“height, hill”
- Old English
hyll
“hill”
- Middle English
hil
“hill”
- Modern English
hill
“a natural elevation of land”
Connections
Word parts
hill
root
rising ground
Related across languages
Low German
Hüll
hill
Old Norse
holl
hill
Explore next
Related to hill
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.