Meaning

noun elevated (e.g., mountainous) land

adjective used of high or hilly country

originFrom Middle English hy laund, holond (“highland, upland”), from Old English hēahland (“highland”), from Proto-West Germanic *hauhaland, *hauhalandī; equivalent to high + land. Cognate with Scots hieland (“highland”), Dutch hoogland (“highland”), German Hochland (“highland”), Danish højland (“highland”), Swedish högland (“highland”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0