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- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European pis-tlo- →Every word from Proto-Italic pistlom →