The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word SILL
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The cryptic/wordplay part
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What does SILL mean?
SILL noun- (also window sill) A horizontal slat which forms the base of a window.
- A horizontal, structural member of a building near ground level on a foundation or pilings or lying on the ground in earth-fast construction and bearing the upright portion of a frame. Also called a ground plate, groundsill, sole, sole-plate, mudsill. An interrupted sill fits between posts instead of being below and supporting the posts in timber framing.
- A horizontal layer of igneous rock between older rock beds.
- A piece of timber across the bottom of a canal lock for the gates to shut against.
- A raised area at the base of the nasal aperture in the skull.
- The inner edge of the bottom of an embrasure.
- A young herring.
- The shaft or thill of a carriage.