Kill (body of water)

A kill is a body of water, most commonly a creek, but also a tidal inlet, river, strait, or arm of the sea. The term is derived from the Middle Dutch kille (kil in modern Dutch), meaning "riverbed" or "water channel". It is found in areas of Dutch influence in the Netherlands' former North American colony of New Netherland, primarily the Hudson and Delaware Valleys.

Examples of the freestanding use of "kill" or "kull" are:

• Bronx Kill between the Bronx and Randalls Island
• Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull, both separating Staten Island, New York from New Jersey

"Kill" is also joined with a noun to create a composite name for a place or body of water:

• Catskill Mountains, New York
• Fishkill, New York
• Peekskill, New York
• Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania
• Raymondskill Falls, Pennsylvania
• Wallkill, New York
• Batten Kill, Vermont and New York

The single 'l' spelling of 'kil' is the norm in modern Dutch geographical names, e.g. Dordtsche Kil, Sluiskil, or Kil van Hurwenen. It can occasionally be found in North America.