Where does “pillar” come from?

Pillar comes from Old French pilier, derived from Vulgar Latin pilare, which developed from Latin pila, ultimately tracing back through Latin pilus and pilum to Proto-Indo-European roots peys- and pis-tlo-.

pillar (English): A large post, often used as supporting...

Definitions

  1. A large post, often used as supporting...

Ancestry of “pillar”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpilier
2Vulgar Latinpilarea pillar
3Latinpilamortar; pillar; pier
4Latinpīlusa hair
5Latinpīluma pounder, pestle
6Proto-Italicpistlom
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpis-tlo-
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpeys-to grind, to crush

Words derived from “pillar

Every word from Proto-Indo-European peys-