pill

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

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

   The doctor told her to take one pill every morning.

2. 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. 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.

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.

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