pile

Word Origins notes that three different Latin words lie behind three kinds of pile: a heap, from pila, pillar; a stake, from pilum, javelin; and the nap of cloth, from pilus, hair.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /paɪl/^[4]

pile¹ heap

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French pile (“a heap, a stack”) and directly borrowed from Latin pila (“a pillar; stone barrier, pier”) (see pillar).^[2][3][1] The sense development in Latin would have been from a harbour wall of stones to something heaped up.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A heap or stack: about 1410 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Middle English pile could also mean a pillar or pier of a bridge (mid-15th century).^[3] The verb, to heap up, is from about 1400.^[3] A large building, often a pile, may be from the same word, or from a separate Middle English pile, a castle or tower (late 14th century), which the OED treats as of doubtful origin.^[3][5] Make one's pile, to make a fortune, is a later use.^[1] A nuclear reactor was called an atomic pile in the 20th century.^[6][7]

Timeline

• late 14th century – a castle, tower.^[3]
• c. 1400 – to heap up (verb).^[3]
• c. 1410 – a heap.^[2]
• mid-15th century – a pier.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A heap of things laid on top of one another.
2. (informal) A large amount: piles of money.
3. A large, imposing building.

Verb

1. To place things one on top of another; to heap.
2. (pile in, into) To move in a disorganized crowd.

Word family

• pile-up
• stockpile

pile² stake, post

Etymology

It is late Old English pīl (“sharp stake; arrow, dart”),^[2][3][8] an early borrowing of Latin pilum (“the heavy javelin of the Roman foot soldier”), also the source of German Pfeil (“arrow”).^[3][9] The Latin word is of uncertain origin;^[3] De Vaan finds its identification with pilum, pestle, defensible.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A dart or shaft: before 1000 in the OED;^[10] a pointed stake, Old English.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A timber or stake driven into the ground is from before 1338, in Mannyng's chronicle.^[2] In engineering, a heavy beam driven into the soil to support a structure, the main modern sense, follows.^[3][8] The pointed head of a staff or arrow is from the 1590s.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1000 – a dart; a stake.^[10][3]
• before 1338 – a stake driven into the ground.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A heavy post of timber, concrete or steel driven into the ground to support a building or bridge.

Word family

• pile driver

pile³ nap of a fabric

Etymology

It is from Anglo-French pyle or Middle Dutch pijl, both from Latin pilus (“a hair”), a word of uncertain origin.^[3][2] Etymonline notes that phonology rules out transmission through Old French peil, poil.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Downy plumage: the mid-14th century in Etymonline, about 1350 in Barnhart;^[3][2] fine, soft hair, the late 15th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The soft, raised surface of a fabric such as velvet or a carpet is from the 1560s.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1350 – plumage.^[2][3]
• late 15th century – soft hair.^[3]
• 1560s – the nap of cloth.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The soft, raised surface of a carpet or of fabric such as velvet, made of cut or looped threads.

Related words

• pillar
• pilaster
• compile

Usage notes

Piles, haemorrhoids, is treated as a separate word, usually plural.^[2][8][9]

References

1. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press