hill（n.）
古英语 hyll “山丘”，源自原始日耳曼语 *hulni-（也是中古荷兰语 hille，低地德语 hull “山丘”，古诺尔斯语 hallr “石头”，哥特语 hallus “岩石”，古诺尔斯语 holmr “海湾中的小岛”，古英语 holm “上升的土地，岛屿”），源自 PIE 词根 *kel-（2）“突出； 山丘”。曾经包括山脉。
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]
在英国，高度低于2,000英尺的地方通常被称为山丘； “山”一词仅限于湖区，北威尔士和苏格兰高地的更高海拔地区； 但在印度，高达5,000甚至10,000英尺的山脉通常被称为“山丘”，与喜马拉雅山形成对比，后者的许多峰顶高出20,000英尺。[OED]
The term mountain is very loosely used. It commonly means any unusual elevation. In New England and central New York, elevations of from one to two thousand feet are called hills, but on the plains of Texas, a hill of a few hundred feet is called a mountain. [Ralph S. Tarr, "Elementary Geology," Macmillan, 1903]
术语 mountain 的使用非常宽泛。它通常意味着任何不寻常的高度。在新英格兰和纽约中部，高度在一到两千英尺之间的地方被称为山丘，但在德克萨斯州的平原上，几百英尺高的山丘被称为山。[拉尔夫·S·塔尔，“初级地质学”，麦克米伦，1903]
Despite the differences in defining mountain systems, Penck (1896), Supan (1911) and Obst (1914) agreed that the distinction between hills, mountains, and mountain systems according to areal extent or height is not a suitable classification. ["Geographic Information Science and Mountain Geomorphology," 2004]
尽管定义山脉的差异很大，但 Penck（1896年），Supan（1911年）和 Obst（1914年）都认为，根据面积或高度区分山丘、山脉和山脉系统并不是一个合适的分类。[“地理信息科学和山地地貌学”，2004]
比喻短语 over the hill “过了巅峰”记录于1950年。表达式 old as the hills 记录于1819年，可能是在模仿约伯书15.7。早期形式 old as the hills and the valleys 可追溯到1808年：
And this is no "new morality." It is morality as old as the hills and the valleys. It is a morality which must be adopted; or, we must confess that there are certain political evils greater than that of seeing one's country conquered. [Cobbett's Weekly Political Register, Feb. 6, 1808]
这并不是“新道德”。这是一种和山丘和山谷一样古老的道德。这是一种必须采用的道德； 否则，我们必须承认，有些政治上的恶行比看到自己的国家被征服更大。[科贝特的每周政治注册，1808年2月6日]
科贝特在1818年4月11日也有：
However, thus it always is: "those whom God intends to destroy, he first makes foolish," which is a saying as old as the hills between Everly and Marlborough.
然而，事情总是这样的：“上帝要毁灭谁，就先让他变傻”，这是一个在 Everly 和 Marlborough 之间古老如山的说法。