pillow

B1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈpɪl.oʊ/ UK /ˈpɪl.əʊ/ See IPA manual

Freq #4470

Meanings

1

noun
A soft cushion that you rest your head on in bed.

I bought a new, fluffy pillow for a better night's sleep.
2

verb
To rest your head on something soft, as if on a pillow.

She pillowed her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to rest your head on... rest

Word family

Forms pillowedpillowingpillows

Derived forms pillow-biterpillow-casepillow-toppillowbeerpillowbookpillowcasepillowfulpillowingpillowlesspillowlikepillowsidepillowslip

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pillow lava
lava that has hardened into rounded masses resembling cushions, typically underwater

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English pilwe, from Old English pyle, pylu (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (“pillow”), from Latin pulvīnus (“cushion”), derived from pulvis (“dust, powder”) + -īnus (“-ine”), for the filler of a pillow. Doublet of pulvinus. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Peel (“pillow”), Alemannic German Pfulme (“pillow”), Dutch peluw (“a long, narrow pillow”), German Pfühl (“a big and soft pillow”), German Low German Pöhl (“pad, pillow, cushion”).

pilwe Middle English pyle Old English *pulwī Proto-West Germanic pulvīnus Latin

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Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# pillow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɪl.oʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɪl.əʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 4470

## Meanings
1. A soft cushion that you rest your head on in bed.
2. To rest your head on something soft, as if on a pillow.

## Examples
- I bought a new, fluffy pillow for a better night's sleep.
- She pillowed her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

## Derived Forms
- pillow-biter
- pillow-case
- pillow-top
- pillowbeer
- pillowbook
- pillowcase
- pillowful
- pillowing
- pillowless
- pillowlike
- pillowside
- pillowslip

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pilwe
- Root: pyle
- Root: *pulwī
- Root: pulvīnus

## Etymology
From Middle English pilwe, from Old English pyle, pylu (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (“pillow”), from Latin pulvīnus (“cushion”), derived from pulvis (“dust, powder”) + -īnus (“-ine”), for the filler of a pillow. Doublet of pulvinus. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Peel (“pillow”), Alemannic German Pfulme (“pillow”), Dutch peluw (“a long, narrow pillow”), German Pfühl (“a big and soft pillow”), German Low German Pöhl (“pad, pillow, cushion”).

## AI Etymology
Pillow comes from Middle English pilwe, from Old English pyle, pylu (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (“pillow”), from Latin pulvīnus (“cushion”), derived from pulvis (“dust, powder”) + -īnus (“-ine”), for the filler of a pillow. Doublet of pulvinus. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Peel (“pillow”), Alemannic German Pfulme (“pillow”), Dutch peluw (“a long, narrow pillow”), German Pfühl (“a big and soft pillow”), German Low German Pöhl (“pad, pillow, cushion”). In present-day English it covers a soft cushion that you rest your head on in bed and to rest your head on something soft, as if on a pillow. The wider family includes derived forms such as pillow-biter, pillow-case, pillow-top, pillowbeer, pillowbook.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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