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Webster 1913 Edition

Sill

Sill

(sĭl)
,
Noun.
[OE.
sille
,
sylle
, AS.
syl
,
syll
; akin to G.
schwelle
, OHG.
swelli
, Icel.
syll
,
svill
, Sw.
syll
, Dan.
syld
, Goth.
gasuljan
to lay a foundation, to found.]
The basis or foundation of a thing; especially, a horizontal piece, as a timber, which forms the lower member of a frame, or supports a structure;
as, the
sills
of a house, of a bridge, of a loom, and the like
.
Hence:
(a)
The timber or stone at the foot of a door; the threshold.
(b)
The timber or stone on which a window frame stands; or, the lowest piece in a window frame.
(c)
The floor of a gallery or passage in a mine.
(d)
A piece of timber across the bottom of a canal lock for the gates to shut against.
Sill course
(Arch.)
,
a horizontal course of stone, terra cotta, or the like, built into a wall at the level of one or more window sills, these sills often forming part of it.

Sill

,
Noun.
[Cf.
Thill
.]
The shaft or thill of a carriage.
[Prov. Eng.]

Sill

,
Noun.
[Cf. 4th
Sile
.]
A young herring.
[Eng.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Sill

SILL

,
Noun.
[L. solum; allied to solid. The primary sense is probably to lay, set or throw down.]
1.
Properly, the basis of foundationof a thing; appropriately, a piece of timber on which a building rests; the lowest timber of any stucture; as the sills of a house, of a bridge, of a loom and the like.
2.
The timber or stone at the foot of a door; the threshhold.
3.
The timber or stone on which a window frame stands; or the lowest piece in a window frame.
4.
The shaft or thill of a carriage. [Local.]

Definition 2024

sill

sill

English

1: Sill
2: Lintel

Noun

sill ‎(plural sills)

  1. (architecture) (also window sill) A horizontal slat which forms the base of a window.
    She looked out the window resting her elbows on the window sill.
  2. (construction) A horizontal, structural member of a building near ground level on a foundation or pilings or lying on the ground in earth-fast construction and bearing the upright portion of a frame. Also spelled cill. Also called a ground plate, groundsill, sole, sole-plate, mudsill. An interrupted sill fits between posts instead of being below and supporting the posts in timber framing.
  3. (geology) A horizontal layer of igneous rock between older rock beds.
  4. A piece of timber across the bottom of a canal lock for the gates to shut against.
  5. (anatomy) A raised area at the base of the nasal aperture in the skull.
    the nasal sill
Usage notes

Usually spelled cill when used in the context of canal or river engineering.

Derived terms
Quotations
  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:sill.
Translations
Related terms

Etymology 2

Compare sile.

Noun

sill ‎(plural sills)

  1. (Britain) A young herring.

Etymology 3

Compare thill.

Noun

sill ‎(plural sills)

  1. The shaft or thill of a carriage.

Anagrams

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse síld, from Proto-Germanic *sīlą.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sɪl/

Noun

sill c

  1. a herring

Declension

Inflection of sill 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative sill sillen sillar sillarna
Genitive sills sillens sillars sillarnas

Usage notes

  • Herring from the Atlantic on Sweden's west coast is called sill. The subspecies fished from the Baltic Sea on Sweden's east coast is called strömming.

See also

References

  • Harris, Cyril M.. Illustrated dictionary of historic architecture. New York: Dover Publications, 1983, 1977. Groundsill ISBN 048624444X

Etymology

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”), 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).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: sĭl, IPA(key): /sɪl/,
  • Rhymes: -ɪl

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