thill

T1H4I1L1L1
UK, US/θɪl/

noun

One of the two long pieces of wood, extending before a vehicle, between which a horse is hitched; a shaft.

OriginMiddle English thille ← Old English þille ← Proto-West Germanic *þilljā →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

thill1

nounthill (plural thills)

plural thills · alternative dialectal fill

  1. One of the two long pieces of wood, extending before a vehicle, between which a horse is hitched; a shaft.
  2. businessThe shallow stratum of underclay that lies under a seam of coal; the bottom of a coal-seam.

    One by one, Janki leading, they crept into the old gallery – a six-foot way with a scant four feet from thill to roof.

    1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘At Twenty-two’, In Black and White, Folio Society, published 2005, page 405

Thill2

proper nounThill (plural Thills)

plural Thills

  1. A surname.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*tel-“plank; board”
  2. Proto-Germanic*þiljǭ“board; floorboard; deck”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*þilljā
  4. Old Englishþille“board; floorboard; plank; stake; pole”
  5. Middle Englishthille
  6. Englishthill

From Middle English thille, thylle, from Old English þille (“board; floorboard; plank; stake; pole”), from Proto-West Germanic *þilljā, from Proto-Germanic *þiljǭ (“board; floorboard; deck”), from Proto-Indo-European *tel- (“plank; board”). Cognate with Dutch deel, German Low German Deel (> English deal (“plank”)), German Diele, Swedish tilja, Icelandic þilja. Akin to English theal (“board; plank”). Doublet of deal (etymology 3) and theal (dialectal).

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

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish aisa
  • aisaone of two long pieces of wood extending before a vehicle
Polish hołobla
  • hołoblaone of two long pieces of wood extending before a vehicle
Russian огло́бля
  • огло́бля (oglóblja)one of two long pieces of wood extending before a vehicle

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with thill

willstilluntilbillhillbrazilkilltillillskillphilpillgrilllilmiltilnilrefillfulfillchillspillgillgoodwillthrill
All rhymes →

Anagrams

illth
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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