thill

Meaning

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

Synonyms

shaft

trace

underearth

warrant

underclay

root clay

seat clay

coal sear

seat earth

coal clay

Pronounced as (IPA)

/θɪl/

Etymology

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.