Etymograph

English

compiler

Compiler comes from Latin compīlātor ‘a compiler, one which heaps (up) or compiles’, from compīlō ‘to snatch together and carry off’, and ultimately from pīlō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpīlō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompīlō1‘to snatch together and carry off’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompīlātor2as compīlātōrem‘a compiler, one which heaps (up) or compiles’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400compileur2
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400compilour2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500compilour2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1995compiler2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin compilator
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English compiler
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Charles Calvert, Teach Yourself Windows 95 Programming in 21 Days: “As a result, many compilers automatically allocate blocks of…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpīlōWiktionary, Latin compilator
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompīlōWiktionary, Latin compilator‘to snatch together and carry off’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompīlātorWiktionary, English compileras compīlātōrem‘a compiler, one which heaps (up) or compiles’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400compileurWiktionary, English compiler
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400compilourWiktionary, English compiler
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500compilourWiktionary, English compiler
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1995compilerWiktionary, English compiler. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Charles Calvert, Teach Yourself Windows 95 Programming in 21 Days: “As a result, many compilers automatically allocate blocks of…”

Formed from compile + -er

Proto-Italic *peilā ‘pillar’

…

Latin pīlō ‘ram down’

Latin compīlō ‘to plunder’

Old French compiler

Middle English compilen

English compile

Linked words

through Latin pīlō

peel, pill, plush, 6 more

Today it means

noun One who compiles.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “compiler”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin compilator. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin pīlō / compiler

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