hillman

• hill-man

From hill +‎ man.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪlmən/

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Homophone: Hillman
• Hyphenation: hill‧man

hillman (plural hillmen)

1. A native or inhabitant of hilly or mountainous country; a tribesman who lives in the mountains.
   • 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “The Education of Otis Yeere”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 37:

     No one quite knew who or what the Gullals were till The Mussuck, who had been calling on Mrs. Hauksbee, and prided himself upon picking people's brains, explained they were a tribe of ferocious hillmen, somewhere near Sikkim, whose friendship even the Great Indian Empire would find it worth her while to secure.

   • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 6:

     Indian hillmen of exceptional intelligence and resource, specially trained in clandestine surveying techniques, were despatched across the frontier disguised as Muslim holy men or Buddhist pilgrims.

2. (folklore) A supernatural being, such as a dwarf, that lives beneath a hill.
   • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 186:

     A farmer on whose ground there was a little hill, resolved not to let it lie idle, and began at one end to plough it up. The hill-man, who lived in it, came to him and asked him how he dared to plough on the roof of his house.

3. (UK, historical) A person employed to sift through a heap of dust and rubbish in search of any saleable items.