Etymology
1. O.E.
hyll, from P.Gmc.
*khulnis (cf. M.Du.
hille, Low Ger.
hull "hill," O.N.
hallr "stone," Goth.
hallus "rock," O.N.
holmr "islet in a bay," O.E.
holm "rising land, island"), from PIE base
*kel- "to rise, be elevated, to be prominent" (cf. Skt.
kutam "top, skull;" L.
collis "hill,"
columna "projecting object,"
culmen "top, summit,"
cellere "raise,"
celsus "high;" Gk.
kolonos "hill,"
kolophon "summit;" Lith.
kalnas "mountain,"
kalnelis "hill,"
kelti "raise"). Formerly including mountains, now usually confined to heights under 2,000 feet.
Hillock (1382) preserves M.E. dim. suffix
-oc. Phrase
over the hill "past one's prime" is first recorded 1950.
"In Great Britain heights under 2,000 feet are generally called hills; 'mountain' being confined to the greater elevations of the Lake District, of North Wales, and of the Scottish Highlands; but, in India, ranges of 5,000 and even 10,000 feet are commonly called 'hills,' in contrast with the Himalaya Mountains, many peaks of which rise beyond 20,000 feet." [OED]
2. From Middle English hil (“hill”), from Old English hyll (“hill”), from Proto-West Germanic *hulli (“hill”), from Proto-Germanic *hulliz (“hill”), from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥Hnís (“top, hill, rock”) (compare also Proto-Germanic *halluz (“stone, rock”)).
3. Cognate with Middle Dutch hille, hulle (“hill”), Low German hull (“hill”), Faroese hólur (“hill”), Icelandic and Old Norse hóll (“hill”), Norn hul (“hillock”), Norwegian hol (“low hillock”), Swedish kulle (“hill”), Catalan coll (“hill”), Italian colle (“hill”), Latin collis (“hill”), Lithuanian kalnas (“hill, mountain”), Albanian kallumë (“big pile, tall heap”), Russian холм (xolm, “hill”), Old English holm (“rising land, island”). More at holm. See: Swedish '
kulle'.