*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of thill

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 *te

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

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

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "thille"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English thille"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "þille",
        "4": "",
        "5": "board; floorboard; plank; stake; pole"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English þille (“board; floorboard; plank; stake; pole”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*þilljā"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *þilljā"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*þiljǭ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "board; floorboard; deck"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *þiljǭ (“board; floorboard; deck”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*tel-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "plank; board"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *tel- (“plank; board”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "deel"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch deel"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Deel"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Deel"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Diele"
      },
      "expansion": "German Diele"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "tilja"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish tilja"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "þilja"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic þilja"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "deal<qq:etymology 3>",
        "3": "theal<qq:dialectal>"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of deal (etymology 3) and theal (dialectal)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "thille",
      "thille#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "thylle",
      "thylle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "þille",
      "þille#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*þilljā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/þilljā"
    ],
    [
      "*þiljǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/þiljǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*tel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tel-"
    ],
    [
      "deel",
      "deel#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Deel",
      "Deel#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "deal",
      "deal#English"
    ],
    [
      "Diele",
      "Diele#German"
    ],
    [
      "tilja",
      "tilja#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "þilja",
      "þilja#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "theal",
      "theal#English"
    ],
    [
      "deal",
      "deal#English"
    ],
    [
      "theal",
      "theal#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "One of the two long pieces of wood, extending before a vehicle, between which a horse is hitched; a shaft.",
        "The shallow stratum of underclay that lies under a seam of coal; the bottom of a coal-seam."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "aeb31af898efc519802e1ea9688bcca6d143bc353defc15b9ad5866405f65888",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2f148ba7b74725828f0a5281f9326efb2a0b2927df75831e176e4746fd5ade3d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1728430
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for thill →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dGhpbGw