I. ˈhil noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English hill, hul, from Old English hyll; akin to Old English holm island, Old Saxon holm hill, Old Norse hōlmr island, Latin collis hill, culmen top, celsus high, Greek kolōnos hill, Lithuanian kelti to lift up, and perhaps to Old English heall stone, rock, Old Norse hallr stone, Gothic hallus rock, cliff, and perhaps to Sanskrit kūṭa hammer, mallet; basic meaning: rising, raising
1. : a natural elevation of land of local area and well-defined outline:
a. : a more or less rounded elevation as contrasted with a peaked or precipitous one — compare butte , mesa
b. : a conspicuous elevation in a comparatively flat country
the seven hills on which Rome was built
c.
(1) : any of the inferior elevations of a rugged country : an elevation higher than a rise and lower than a mountain
(2) hills plural : a range or group of hills
visited the Black hills and the Rocky mountains
d. : hilly country
a hill district
hill people
— often used in plural
lives in the hills
2. : a heap or mound of earth or other material reared by human or animal agency
the hills of a prairie dogs' town
3. : a group of several seeds or plants planted in one hole
sow five seeds to each hill
a hill of beans
4. : an incline especially in a road : slope
trucks laboring up the long hill
5. dialect : dry land surrounded by swamp, marsh, or water : solid ground
6. : an elevation on any surface : ridge
the hills and hollows of the cobblestone pavement
•
- over the hill
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to form into a heap
hill up soil around roses
2. : to heap or draw earth around or upon
hilled the potatoes
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English hulen, hilen, hillen, probably from Old Norse hylja to hide, cover; akin to Old High German hullen to cover, Gothic huljan to cover, Old English helan to hide, conceal — more at hell
dialect England : to protect by covering : hide