Etymograph

English

plush

Plush comes from French peluche ‘fluff, plush’, from Old French peluchier ‘to peel’, and ultimately from Latin pilus ‘hair’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilus1‘hair’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilo2as pilāre‘remove hair’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pilūc(i)cāre2reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400peluchier3‘to peel’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentpeluche4‘fluff, plush’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1897plush4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pilo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French peluchier
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French peluche
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English plush
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “Mr. Cooke had had a sloop yacht built at…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilusWiktionary, Latin pilo‘hair’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpiloWiktionary, Old French peluchieras pilāre‘remove hair’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pilūc(i)cāreWiktionary, Old French peluchierreconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400peluchierWiktionary, French peluche‘to peel’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentpelucheWiktionary, English plush‘fluff, plush’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1897plushWiktionary, English plush. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “Mr. Cooke had had a sloop yacht built at…”

The story

The fact that historically (in past centuries) plush upholstery was so expensive as to be socially exclusive undoubtedly connects the senses of "luxurious" and "soft".

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin pilus ‘hair’

pile, pellet, pilar, peloton, pillage, 22 more

through Latin pilo ‘remove hair’

pill, compilation, peel, compile, 5 more

through Vulgar Latin *pilūc(i)cāre

pluck

Today it means

adj Very extravagant.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “plush”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin pilo, Old French peluchier, French peluche. 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 / plush

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