pillow

Etymology

From Middle English pilwe, from Old English pylwe, pylu, pyle (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (“pillow”), from Latin pulvīnus (“cushion”), derived from pulvis (“dust, powder”) + -īnus (“-ine”), for the filler of a pillow. Doublet of pulvinus.

noun

  1. A soft cushion used to support the head in bed.
  2. (geology) A pillow lava.
  3. (engineering) A piece of metal or wood, forming a support to equalize pressure; a brass; a pillow block.
  4. (nautical) A block under the inner end of a bowsprit.
  5. The socket of a pivot.
  6. (uncountable) A kind of plain, coarse fustian.

verb

  1. (transitive) To rest as on a pillow.
    She had pillowed her head on her arm. 1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, pages 815–6

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