Etymograph

English

horripilation

Horripilation comes from Late Latin horripilatio ‘bristling (of the hair)’, and goes back to Latin pilus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilus1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhorripilō2‘to bristle with hairs, to be shaggy’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhorripilatio3‘bristling (of the hair)’
  4. Englishtodayhorripilation3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin horripilo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin horripilatio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English horripilation

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilusWiktionary, Latin horripilo
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhorripilōWiktionary, Latin horripilatio‘to bristle with hairs, to be shaggy’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhorripilatioWiktionary, English horripilation‘bristling (of the hair)’
  4. EnglishtodayhorripilationWiktionary, English horripilation

Linked words

through Latin pilus

pile, peel, pill, plush, pellet, peloton, pilar, 22 more

Today it means

noun A real or fancied bristling of the hair of the head or body, resulting from disease, terror, chilliness, etc.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “horripilation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin horripilo, Latin horripilatio. 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 pilus / horripilation

Shirt and support for this word