Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small brook; a rivulet.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A small brook; a rivulet; a streamlet.
  • noun A deep, winding valley on the moon.
  • To flow in a small stream or rill; run in streamlets; purl.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb rare To run a small stream.
  • noun A very small brook; a streamlet.
  • noun (Astron.) See Rille.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A very small brook; a streamlet.
  • verb To run a small stream.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small stream
  • noun a small channel (as one formed by soil erosion)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Low German rille or Dutch ril, running stream; see rei- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • Brunswick are to her what the railroads are now to other countries: and richly is she blessed with sparkling waters from the diamond flashings of the mountain rill to the still calm beauty of the sheltered lake, the silvery streams, the sweeping river, and the unfrozen width of the winter harbour of her noble bay.

    Sketches and Tales Illustrative of Life in the Backwoods of New Brunswick, North America Frederick 1845

  • She was not sure whether a rill was a fountain or a stream, so she decided, as there was no dictionary convenient, to think of it as like the creek where it crossed the road at the foot of Red Hill.

    Mr. Pat's Little Girl A Story of the Arden Foresters Mary Finley Leonard

  • By the first rill, which is a simple light, the memory has been lifted above sensible images, and has been grounded and established in the unity of the spirit.

    The Adornment of the Spritual Marriage 1293-1381 1916

  • By the second rill, which is an inflowing light, understanding and reason have been enlightened, to know the diverse ways of virtue and of practice, and discern the mysteries of the Scriptures.

    The Adornment of the Spritual Marriage 1293-1381 1916

  • By the third rill, which is an inpouring heat, the supreme will has been enkindled in tranquil love, and has been endowed with great riches.

    The Adornment of the Spritual Marriage 1293-1381 1916

  • I never had any what you might call rill pleasure excep 'walkin' in the Depot Woods.

    Friendship Village Zona Gale 1906

  • Straight through the heart of this little oasis trickled a streamlet across which the Willow jumped with Baree under her arm, and on the edge of the rill was a small wigwam made of freshly cut spruce and balsam boughs.

    Baree, Son of Kazan James Oliver Curwood 1903

  • It finds its most economical field where the dip of the stope floor is over 45°, when waste and ore, with the help of the "rill," will flow to their destination.

    Principles of Mining Valuation, Organization and Administration Herbert Hoover 1919

  • In cases of dips over 40º the greatest advantage in "rill" stoping arises from the possibility of pouring filling or timber into the stope from above with less handling, because the ore and material will run down the sides of the pyramid (Figs. 32 and 34).

    Principles of Mining Valuation, Organization and Administration Herbert Hoover 1919

  • -- A combined stope is made by the coincident working of the underhand and "rill" method (Fig. 27).

    Principles of Mining Valuation, Organization and Administration Herbert Hoover 1919

Comments

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  • 1. A small brook; a rivulet.

    2. A long narrow straight valley on the moon's surface.

    (Low German rille or Dutch ril, running stream; see rei- in Indo-European roots.)

    May 29, 2007

  • AWAKE, Æolian lyre, awake,

    And give to rapture all thy trembling strings.

    From Helicon's harmonious springs

    A thousand rills their mazy progress take;

    The laughing flowers that round them blow

    Drink life and fragrance as they flow.

    Now the rich stream of music winds along

    Deep, majestic, smooth, and strong,

    Thro' verdant vales, and Ceres' golden reign;

    Now rolling down the steep amain

    Headlong, impetuous, see it pour:

    The rocks and nodding groves re-bellow to the roar.

    - T. Gray, 'The Progress of Poesy'.

    August 11, 2008