pillow English · revision 10718

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 897|origins=ang pyle|origins=la pulvinus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈpɪl.əʊ/, US /ˈpɪl.oʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|pyle]], pylu, cushion, pillow (before 899, in Alfred's Orosius),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which comes [[der|gmw-pro|*pulwī]], an early borrowing of Latin [[m|la|pulvīnus|t=cushion, pillow]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) which is of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1988) It is cognate with Old Saxon puli, Dutch peluw, bolster, and German Pfühl.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Barnhart notes that in some cases the Middle English word was also borrowed directly from Latin.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A support for the head in sleeping, a cushion: about 897.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle English had many forms: pule (about 1150), pilowe (about 1350) and pillow (1440).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The verb, to rest on a pillow, is from 1629, in Milton's Nativity Ode,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the 1620s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The pad on which bobbin lace is made is also a pillow.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) ''Pillow talk'' is a modern compound.^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 897 – pyle, a cushion.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1150 – pule.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1440 – the spelling pillow.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1629 – to pillow (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A cloth case stuffed with something soft, used to support the head in sleep.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A decorative [[cushion]].^(AHD)

+ # A padded cushion on which pillow lace is made.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To rest the head on, or as on, a pillow.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pillowy]]

+ * [[pillowless]]

+ * [[pillowlike]]

+ * [[pillowcase]]

+ * [[pillowslip]]

+ * [[lace pillow]]

+ * [[pillow block]]

+ * [[pillow lace]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pulvinar]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}