pill

A2 Topic:Health & Medicine

US /pɪl/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like peel /ɪ/ vs /iː/ Sounds like peal /ɪ/ vs /iː/

Freq #4014

Meanings

1

noun
A small, usually round piece of medicine that you swallow.

The doctor told her to take one pill every morning.
2

noun
A pill that a woman takes regularly to avoid becoming pregnant.

She decided to go on the pill before leaving for university.
3

verb
Of a fabric or sweater, to form small balls of fluff on its surface.

This cheap jumper started to pill after just one wash.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

tablet

Word family

Forms pills

Derived forms antipillblack-pillblue-pilldogpillminipillnanopillpill-boxpill-popperpillboxpillbugpillheadpillmaker

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

vitamin pill
a tablet containing vitamins intended to supplement food intake

Noun + noun

Idioms (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Pill goes back to Latin pilula, meaning “little ball,” from pila, “ball.”

Etymology

From Middle English *pill, *pyll, from Old English pyll (“a pool, pill”), from Proto-Germanic *pullijaz (“small pool, ditch, creek”), diminutive of Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“pool, stream”), from Proto-Indo-European *bl̥nos (“bog, marsh”). Cognate with Old English pull (“pool, creek”), Scots poll (“slow moving stream, creek, inlet”), Icelandic pollur (“pond, pool, puddle”). More at pool.

*pill Middle English pyll Old English *pullijaz Proto-Germanic *pullaz Proto-Germanic *bl̥nos Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Health & Medicine

External links

# pill

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /pɪl/
**Frequency rank:** 4014

## Meanings
1. A small, usually round piece of medicine that you swallow.
2. A pill that a woman takes regularly to avoid becoming pregnant.
3. Of a fabric or sweater, to form small balls of fluff on its surface.

## Examples
- The doctor told her to take one pill every morning.
- She decided to go on the pill before leaving for university.
- This cheap jumper started to pill after just one wash.

## Synonyms
- tablet

## Derived Forms
- antipill
- black-pill
- blue-pill
- dogpill
- minipill
- nanopill
- pill-box
- pill-popper
- pillbox
- pillbug
- pillhead
- pillmaker

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *pill
- Root: pyll
- Root: *pullijaz
- Root: *pullaz
- Root: *bl̥nos

## Etymology
From Middle English *pill, *pyll, from Old English pyll (“a pool, pill”), from Proto-Germanic *pullijaz (“small pool, ditch, creek”), diminutive of Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“pool, stream”), from Proto-Indo-European *bl̥nos (“bog, marsh”). Cognate with Old English pull (“pool, creek”), Scots poll (“slow moving stream, creek, inlet”), Icelandic pollur (“pond, pool, puddle”). More at pool.

## AI Etymology
Pill comes from Middle English *pill, *pyll, from Old English pyll (“a pool, pill”), from Proto-Germanic *pullijaz (“small pool, ditch, creek”), diminutive of Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“pool, stream”), from Proto-Indo-European *bl̥nos (“bog, marsh”). Cognate with Old English pull (“pool, creek”), Scots poll (“slow moving stream, creek, inlet”), Icelandic pollur (“pond, pool, puddle”). More at pool. In present-day English it covers a small, usually round piece of medicine that you swallow, a pill that a woman takes regularly to avoid becoming pregnant, and of a fabric or sweater, to form small balls of fluff on its surface. The wider family includes derived forms such as antipill, black-pill, blue-pill, dogpill, minipill.

## Topics
- Health & Medicine

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