Sidehills

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Sloping or hilly areas adjacent to a piece of land or terrain
2. Regions characterized by gradual inclines, often found alongside valleys or flat lands
3. Elevated regions on the edge of a hill that can influence drainage and agriculture

Etymology: "Sidehills" is the plural of "sidehill," a compound of the ordinary words "side" and "hill." The pairing is transparent: a sidehill is the slope on the flank of a hill, rather than its crest or its base. Plural forms like this one are common in American English, where the singular is often used for a hillside running across the face of a larger rise. The word is an English compound with no foreign ancestry, so its story lies in its parts. "Side" and "hill" are both native Old English words, and the joining of them follows the same pattern as other descriptive compounds that name a particular portion of a landform. Because the components carry their meanings straight through, the term needs little explanation beyond the picture it gives of a slope tilted along the side of a hill.

Synonyms: slopes, hillsides, inclines, embankments

Antonyms: valleys, bottoms, flats