sill

S1I1L1L1
/sɪl/

noun

A breast wall; window breast; horizontal brink which forms the base of a window.

“She looked out the window resting her elbows on the window sill.”

OriginMiddle English sille ← Old English syll ← Proto-Germanic *sulī →
Less commonScrabble 4
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

sill1

nounsill (plural sills)

plural sills · alternative cill

  1. also "window sill"architectureA breast wall; window breast; horizontal brink which forms the base of a window.

    She looked out the window resting her elbows on the window sill.

  2. businessA threshold; horizontal structural member of a building near ground level on a foundation or pilings, or lying on the ground, and bearing the upright portion of a frame; a sill plate.
  3. geographyA stratum of rock, especially an intrusive layer of igneous rock lying parallel to surrounding strata.

    The molten rock in the sills may have ignited vast reserves of shallowly buried natural gas, much like a match applied to a gas barbecue.

    2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: The First 100 Million Years, Penguin, published 2019, page 55
    1 more example

    Minor palingenetic magmas probably were generated at this time and intruded the mantling rocks in the form of small sills and apophyses […].

    1980, Geological Survey Professional Paper, Volume 1119, U.S. Government Printing Office
  4. A threshold or brink across the bottom of a canal lock for the gates to shut against.
  5. anatomyA raised area at the base of the nasal aperture in the skull.

    the nasal sill

  6. historicalgovernmentThe inner edge of the bottom of an embrasure.

sill2

nounsill (plural sills)

plural sills · alternative cill

  1. UKA young herring.

sill3

nounsill (plural sills)

plural sills · alternative cill

  1. The shaft or thill of a carriage.

sill4

adjectivesill (comparative more sill, superlative most sill)

comparative more sill · superlative most sill · alternative cill

  1. rareslangSilly.

Sill5

proper nounSill (plural Sills)

plural Sills

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
campyrocker panel

Origin

sill · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sel-
  2. Proto-Germanic*sulī“bar, sill”
  3. Old Englishsyll
  4. Middle Englishsille
  5. Englishsill

From Middle English sille, selle, sülle, from Old English syll, syl (“sill, threshold, foundation, base, basis”), from Proto-Germanic *sulī (“bar, sill”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *swel- (“beam, board, frame, threshold”). Cognate with Scots sil, sill (“balk, beam, floor, sill”), Dutch zulle (“sill”), Low German Sull, Sülle (“threshold, ramp, sill”), German Süll, Sülle (“threshold, sill”), Danish syld (“base of a framework building”), Swedish syll (“joist, cross-tie”), Norwegian syll, Icelandic syll, sylla (“sill”). Related also to German Schwelle ( > Danish svelle), Old Norse svill, Latin silva (“wood, forest”), Ancient Greek ὕλη (húlē).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

sill · noun

Compare sile.

Full word history & related roots →

sill · noun

Compare thill.

Full word history & related roots →

sill · adjective

Short for silly.

Full word history & related roots →

Sill · proper noun

English surname, variant of Silvester (from Sylvester) and Silvano.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian перва́з, праг
  • перва́з (perváz)base of a window
  • праг (prag)threshold or brink across the bottom of the upper canal lock
Catalan ampit
  • ampitbase of a window
Czech parapet
  • parapetbase of a window
Dutch vensterbank
  • vensterbankbase of a window
Finnish ikkunalauta, kerrosjuoni
  • ikkunalautabase of a window
  • kerrosjuonilayer of igneous rock
  • pohjakynnysthreshold or brink across the bottom of the upper canal lock
  • kynnysthreshold or brink across the bottom of the upper canal lock
French rebord
  • rebordbase of a window
German Fensterbank, Sims
  • Fensterbankbase of a window
  • Simsbase of a window
  • Fensterbrettbase of a window
  • Brüstungbase of a window
  • Fensterbrüstungbase of a window
  • Lagerganglayer of igneous rock
  • Silllayer of igneous rock
  • Drempelthreshold or brink across the bottom of the upper canal lock
  • Bodenstufethreshold or brink across the bottom of the upper canal lock
Greek περβάζι, στρωματοειδής φλέβα
  • περβάζι (pervázi)base of a window
  • στρωματοειδής φλέβα (stromatoeidís fléva)layer of igneous rock
Hungarian párkány, teleptelér
  • párkánybase of a window
  • teleptelérlayer of igneous rock
Irish tairseach, urlár
  • tairseachbase of a window
  • urlárlayer of igneous rock
Italian davanzale
  • davanzalebase of a window
Latin sillus
  • silluslayer of igneous rock
Latvian palodze
  • palodzebase of a window
Lithuanian palangė
  • palangėbase of a window
Māori pehipehi
  • pehipehibase of a window
Norwegian vinduskarm
  • vinduskarmbase of a window
Polish parapet, podokiennik
  • parapetbase of a window
  • podokiennikbase of a window
  • silllayer of igneous rock
Portuguese parapeito
  • parapeitobase of a window
Romanian pervaz
  • pervazbase of a window
Russian подоко́нник, силл
  • подоко́нник (podokónnik)base of a window
  • силл (sill)layer of igneous rock
Scottish Gaelic sòla
  • sòlabase of a window
Slovak parapet
  • parapetbase of a window
Spanish lámina
  • láminalayer of igneous rock
Swahili bado
  • badobase of a window

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sill

willstilluntilbillhillbrazilkilltillillskillphilpillgrilllilmiltilnilrefillfulfillchillspillgillgoodwillthrill
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

sill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sill

MLA

“sill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sill. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sill,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sill.

Source: sill on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.