Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “piledriver” come from?

piledriver (English) comes from English pile, from French pile, from Old French pile, from Latin pila, from Latin pīlus, from Latin pīlum, from Proto-Italic pistlom, from Proto-Indo-European pis-tlo- — to grind, to crush.

piledriver (English): Alternative spelling of pile driver; A move in...

Definitions

  1. Alternative spelling of pile driver; A move in...

Ancestry of “piledriver”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpileA mass of things heaped together; a heap; A group...
2Frenchpileheap, stack; pillar; battery
3Old Frenchpile—
4Latinpilamortar; pillar; pier
5Latinpīlus—
6Latinpīlum—
7Proto-Italicpistlom—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpis-tlo-—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpeys-to grind, to crush
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peys- →