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pillage

Etymology and origin of the English word pillage

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɪl.ɪd͡ʒ/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English,[2][3] from Old French pillage (“plunder”),[2][4][5][3] from piller “to plunder, mistreat”,[2][4][5][3][6] of uncertain origin,[6] perhaps from Vulgar Latin *piliāre.[2][4][5] The American Heritage Dictionary relates this to peille “rag”,[2] while Etymonline suggests Latin pilāre “to strip of hair”, compare fleece.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Spoils or booty (before 1393),[4][7] and the act of plundering, chiefly in war (1390).[7][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb was formed from the noun about 1592,[4][3][7] replacing an older verb pill “to plunder”.[5][6] The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, notes that pillage stresses the owner's loss, while plunder stresses the value of what is taken.[5]

Timeline

  • 1390 – the act of plundering.[7][5]
  • before 1393 – booty.[4][7]
  • about 1592 – verb, to plunder.[7][4][3]
  • 1600 – to carry off as booty.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To rob a place of goods by force, especially in war; to plunder or loot.
  2. To take as booty.

Noun

  1. The act of plundering, especially in war.
  2. Goods taken by force; booty.

Word family

  • pillager
  • plunder
  • loot

Usage notes

Random House gives rob, sack, spoil, despoil and rape as synonyms of the verb, and rapine, depredation and spoliation of the noun.[6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pillage.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pillage. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·