Definitions For Mudsill

Noun

MUDSILL (plural MUDSILLs) The lowest sill of a structure, usually placed in or on the ground. (figuratively) A particularly low or dirty place/state; the nadir of something (see rock bottom) : The Pre-Historic Era was the mudsill of human development. (dated, southern US) A person of low status or humble provenance.

Alternative forms

mud sill mud-sill

Etymology

"1685, 'lowest sill of a house,' from mud + sill. The word entered U.S. political history s:the 'mudsill' theory, in a speech by w:james henry hammond, james m. hammond of South Carolina, March 4, 1858, in U.S. Senate, alluding to the very mudsills of society, and the term subsequently was embraced by Northern workers in the pre-Civil War sectional rivalry." (OED, 2007)