Added 10 October 2026
sill
/sɪl/ noun
In Latin: sillus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about sill at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Structural member consisting of a continuous horizontal timber forming the lowest member of a framework or supporting structure.
- (geology) a flat (usually horizontal) mass of igneous rock between two layers of older sedimentary rock.
Origin
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).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)