Where does “pillbug” come from?
pillbug (English) comes from English Pill, from Welsh pil, from English Peel, from Old French piller, from Latin piliō, from Latin pilō, from Latin pila, from Latin pīlus — to grind, to crush.
Ancestry of “pillbug”, step by step
pillbug traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Pill
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Pill | OS grid ref ST5275 |
| 2 | Welsh | pil | peel, rind |
| 3 | English | Peel | A placename |
| 4 | Old French | piller | Alternative form of pillier; pillage; plunder |
| 5 | Latin | piliō | — |
| 6 | Latin | pilō | to put forth hairs, grow hairy |
| 7 | Latin | pila | mortar; pillar; pier |
| 8 | Latin | pīlus | a hair |
| 9 | Latin | pīlum | a pounder, pestle |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | pistlom | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pis-tlo- | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | peys- | to grind, to crush |