Where does “pill” come from?
Pill comes from Latin pila, which derives from Latin pilus meaning hair, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European peys-.
pill (English): A small, usually round or cylindrical object...
Definitions
- A small, usually round or cylindrical object...
Ancestry of “pill”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | pille | — |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | pille | — |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | pilla | — |
| 4 | Latin | pilula | A small ball, globule; pellet; A pill |
| 5 | Latin | pila | mortar; pillar; pier |
| 6 | Latin | pīlus | a hair |
| 7 | Latin | pīlum | a pounder, pestle |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | pistlom | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pis-tlo- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | peys- | to grind, to crush |