I have always used the spelling ‘Sill’ when referring to the structural part of the motor vehicle under the doors and often spoken about in the context of MX-5’s as those ***** rusty bits… More often I see people using Cill now and thought I’d do a little bit of digging as to the correct definition.
The definition of Sill comes from architecture where there is plenty of documented discussion as to the correct spelling though in motoring references Sill is more frequently seen:
I’m not sure there is a ‘correct’ version, do you have a preference and why?
Both are correct the most commonly used is sill according to a search.
I use sill, I’ve used it ever since working in the building industry, window sill for instance. I’m sure others will differ.
I use “sill” because that’s the way I was taught, and now to me the other spelling just looks wrong.
PS: My OED defines “cill” as a variation of “sill” with no detail of the meaning. The definition of “sill” gives the the meaning of the word. I think this would imply that “sill” is the prime version.
PPS: Webster’s is the same as the OED.
My understanding was exactly as described in the Wiki article, you get Cill’s on locks and the like. However, it would seem natural that the architectural feature of a lock Cill is so named after window sill’s which would have predated the canal system. It is probably just down to the way words develop regionally.
I guess “rocker” applies when the lowered car is travelling slow enough to become stranded on a hump-back bridge (we have a very small example locally with heavy scarring on the apex.)
Nice try but it’s actually and old carriage builders term for the longitudinal panel on the side of the floor to improve the aesthetics of the passenger compartment. Most automotive terms are derived from either coach or ship builders, like tumbelhome referring to the shape of the roof as it joins the side pillars.
