Etymologically
Log in

pile

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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.
  • 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