Editing Hillbilly (section)

==Etymology==
The term "hillbilly" is Scottish in origin but is not derived from its [[Scottish English|dialect]]. In Scotland, the term "hill-folk" referred to people who preferred isolation from the greater society, and "billy" meant "comrade" or "companion". The words "hill-folk" and "Billie" were combined and applied to the [[Cameronian]]s who followed the teachings of a militant [[Presbyterian]] named [[Richard Cameron (Covenanter)|Richard Cameron]]. These [[Covenanters|Scottish Covenanters]] fled to the hills of southern Scotland in the late 17th century to avoid persecution for their religious beliefs.<ref name="Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol">{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=Archie |title=Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol|journal=Journal of American Folklore |date=1965 |volume=78 |issue=309 |pages=204–228 |doi=10.2307/538356<!--|access-date=1 August 2014-->|jstor=538356}}</ref>

Many of the early settlers of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] were from Scotland and [[Ulster]], and were followers of [[William III of England|William of Orange]], the [[Protestant]] king of England, Ireland and Scotland. In 17th century Ireland, during the [[Williamite War in Ireland|Williamite War]], Protestant supporters of William III ("King Billy") were referred to as "Billy's Boys" because 'Billy' is a diminutive of 'William' (common across both Britain and Ireland). In time the term hillbilly became synonymous with the [[Williamite]]s who settled in the hills of North America.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/northern_ireland/ni_2/article_2.shtml |title=Hillbillies in the White House |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

Some scholars disagree with this theory. Michael Montgomery's ''From Ulster to America: The Scotch-Irish Heritage of American English'' states, "In Ulster in recent years it has sometimes been supposed that [hillbilly] was coined to refer to followers of King William III and brought to America by early Ulster emigrants, but this derivation is almost certainly incorrect. ... In America ''hillbilly'' was first attested only in 1898, which suggests a later, independent development."<ref name="Montgomery 2006 82"/>