pill

Etymology 1

* From Middle English pille (also pillem), a borrowing from Middle Low German pille or Middle Dutch pille (whence Dutch pil), probably from Latin pila, pilula. * (persuade or convince): Generalized from red pill.

noun

1. (broadly) A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.
   Take two pills every hour in the apyrexia of intermittent fever, until eight are taken. 1864, Benjamin Ellis, The Medical Formulary
   1. (strictly) Such an object that is of solid constitution (usually of compressed, bonded powder) rather than a capsule (with a shell containing loose powder or liquid).
      Coordinate term: capsule
2. (informal, uncountable, definite, i.e. used with "the") Contraceptive medication, usually in the form of a pill to be taken by a woman; an oral contraceptive pill.
   Jane went on the pill when she left for college.
   She got pregnant one month after going off the pill.
   I'm tearing down your brooder house / 'Cause now I've got the pill 1975, “The Pill”, in Back to the Country, performed by Loretta Lynn
   Many specialists are requesting that this vitamin be included in all contraceptive pills, as women on the pill have a tendency to be depressed. 1986, Jurriaan Plesman, Getting Off the Hook: Treatment of Drug Addiction and Social Disorders Through Body and Mind
3. Something offensive, unpleasant or nauseous which must be accepted or endured.
   "It's a sad unpalatable truth," said Mr. Pembroke, thinking that the despondency might be personal, "but one must accept it. My sister and Gerald, I am thankful to say, have accepted it, so naturally it has been a little pill." 1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part I, III [Uniform ed., p. 45]
4. (slang) A contemptible, annoying, or unpleasant person.
   You see, he's egging Phyllis on to marry Wilbert Cream. … And when a man like that eggs, something has to give, especially when the girl's a pill like Phyllis, who always does what Daddy tells her. 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter IV
   Instead, I saw a woman in her mid-fifties, who was a real pill; while all the others had managed a decent “So pleased,” or even a plain “Hello,” Ginger just inclined her head, as if she was doing a Queen Mary imitation. 2000, Susan Isaacs, Shining Through
5. (slang) A comical or entertaining person.
6. (textile) A small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibres formed on the surface of a textile fabric by rubbing. Colloquially known as a bobble, fuzzball, or lint ball.
   One sleeve, threadbare and loaded with what my mother called “sweater pills,” hung halfway to the floor. 1999, Wally Lamb, I Know This Much Is True
7. (archaic, baseball slang) A baseball.
   "Strike two!" bawled the umpire. I threw the pill back to Tom with a heart which drummed above the noise of the rooters along the side lines. 1931, Canadian National Magazine
   Mr. Fisher contributed to the Sox effort when he threw the pill past second baseman Rath after Felsch hit him a comebacker. 2002, John Klima, Pitched Battle: 35 of Baseball's Greatest Duels from the Mound
8. (firearms, slang) A bullet (projectile).
9. (graphical user interface) A rounded rectangle indicating the tag or category that an item belongs to.

verb

1. (intransitive, textiles) Of a woven fabric surface, to form small matted balls of fiber.
   During processing, inferior short fibers (which can cause pilling and itching) are removed to enhance the natural softness of the yarn and to improve its wash-and-wear performance. 1997, Jo Sharp, Knitted Sweater Style: Inspirations in Color
2. To form into the shape of a pill.
   Pilling is a skill rarely used by modern pharmacists.
3. (transitive) To medicate with pills.
   She pills herself with all sorts of herbal medicines.
4. (transitive, Internet slang) To persuade or convince someone of something.
5. (transitive, UK, slang, dated) To blackball (a potential club member).
   “I pilled him because he is a liar,” said Thackeray. “He calls himself 'ill' when he isn't.” 1907, Arthur Griffiths, Clubs and Clubmen, page 260

Etymology 2

From Latin pilō (“depilate”), from pilus (“hair”). Doublet of peel.

verb

1. (obsolete) To peel; to remove the outer layer of hair, skin, or bark.
2. To peel; to make by removing the skin.
3. To be peeled; to peel off in flakes.
4. (obsolete) To pillage; to despoil or impoverish.

noun

1. (obsolete) The peel or skin.
   To make Sallet of Lemon pill, or green Citron. You must have your Lemon Pill preserved very green, Rasp it into a Dish, and raise it up lightly with a Fork […] 1682, A perfect school of Instructions for the Officers of the Mouth

Etymology 3

From Middle English *pill, *pyll, from Old English pyll (“a pool, pill”), from Proto-Germanic *pullijaz (“small pool, ditch, creek”), diminutive of Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“pool, stream”), from Proto-Indo-European *bl̥nos (“bog, marsh”). Cognate with Old English pull (“pool, creek”), Scots poll (“slow moving stream, creek, inlet”), Icelandic pollur (“pond, pool, puddle”). More at pool.

noun

1. (now UK regional) An inlet on the coast; a small tidal pool or bay.