thill

Meaning

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.

Origin

• From Middle English thille, thylle, from Old English þille ("board; floorboard; plank; stake; pole"), from Proto-Germanic *þiljǭ ("board; floorboard; deck"), from Proto-Indo-European *tel- ("plank; board"). Cognate with Dutch deel, German Low German Deel (> English deal), German Diele, Swedish tilja, Icelandic þilja. Akin to English theal. deal.