Etymograph

English

pill

Pill comes from Middle Dutch pille.

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500pille1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pille1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1864pill1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English pill
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1864, Benjamin Ellis: “Take two pills every hour in the apyrexia of…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500pilleWiktionary, English pill
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pilleWiktionary, English pill
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1864pillWiktionary, English pill. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1864, Benjamin Ellis: “Take two pills every hour in the apyrexia of…”

Linked words

through Latin pilus

peel, plush, piles, pilar, 22 more

through Latin pila ‘ball’

pile, pellet, peloton, pila, 6 more

Another origin of pill

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilleus‘felt cap’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilus‘hair’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilō‘depilate’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150pilian‘to peel’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pillen
  6. Englishtodaypill

Another origin of pill

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bl̥nos‘bog, marsh’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*pullaz‘pool, stream’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*pullijaz‘small pool, ditch, creek’reconstructeddiminutive of *pullaz
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150pyll‘a pool, pill’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*pillreconstructed
  6. Englishtodaypill

Today it means

noun A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pill”. 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 / Middle Dutch pille / pill

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