gillie

or gil·ly

[ gil-ee ]

/ ˈgɪl i /

noun

Scot.

a hunting or fishing guide.
a male attendant or personal servant to a Highland chieftain.

Nearby words

gilles de la tourette's disease, gillespie, gillett, gillette, gillian, gillie, gilling, gillingham, gillion, gillnet, gillray

Origin of gillie

First recorded in 1590–1600, gillie is from the Scots Gaelic word gille lad, servant

Definition for gillies (2 of 4)

gilly

[ gil-ee ]

/ ˈgɪl i /

noun, plural gil·lies. Scot.

gillie.

Definition for gillies (3 of 4)

gilly

[ gil-ee ]

/ ˈgɪl i /

noun, plural gil·lies.

a truck or wagon, especially one used to transport the equipment of a circus or carnival.

verb (used with or without object), gil·lied, gil·ly·ing.

to carry or be carried on a gilly.

Origin of gilly

gill (dial.) < ? + -y²

Definition for gillies (4 of 4)

ghillie

or gil·lie

[ gil-ee ]

/ ˈgɪl i /

noun

a low-cut, tongueless shoe with loops instead of eyelets for the laces, which cross the instep and are sometimes tied around the ankle.

Origin of ghillie

1590–1600; see gillie; apparently a type of shoe orig. worn by Scottish hunting guides

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gillies

Gillies is a born-memoirist, both candid and hilarious, and her heartbreak and struggle for love is our gain.
Last-Chance Summer Reads|Carolyn Sun|August 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“I just want to do what I love and if fame comes along with that so be it,” Gillies said.
A Tween Star Does Lennon|Jaimie Etkin|April 21, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I looked about for the young lady and her gillies; there was never a sign of them.
David Balfour, Second Part|Robert Louis Stevenson
A sonnet written by Gillies, and addressed to Wordsworth, may be quoted in this note.
The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Vol. VI (of 8)|William Wordsworth

The king's gillies came to seek the bran, and they took the four sacks with them, and they emptied them before the horses.
Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales|Various
From the jargon, therefore, of the Highland gillies, I pass to the character of their Chief.
Waverley|Sir Walter Scott
And the gillies got jest a mite scoffy along of my natural 'aste.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 99, August 30, 1890.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for gillies (1 of 2)

ghillie

/ (ˈɡɪlɪ) /

noun

a type of tongueless shoe with lacing up the instep, originally worn by the Scots

a variant spelling of gillie

Word Origin for ghillie

from Scottish Gaelic gille boy

British Dictionary definitions for gillies (2 of 2)

gillie

ghillie or gilly

/ (ˈɡɪlɪ) /

noun plural -lies Scot

an attendant or guide for hunting or fishing

(formerly) a Highland chieftain's male attendant or personal servant

Word Origin for gillie

C17: from Scottish Gaelic gille boy, servant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012