pillow
pronunciation
How to pronounce pillow in British English:
UK [ˈpɪləʊ]
How to pronounce pillow in American English:
US [ˈpɪloʊ]
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- Noun:
- a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
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- Verb:
- rest on or as if on a pillow
Word Origin
- pillow
- pillow: [OE] Pillow in a recognizable form emerged in the 14th century. It was based on an inflected form of Old English pyle ‘pillow’. This came via a prehistoric West Germanic *pulwīn (source also of German pfühl and Dutch peluw ‘pillow’) from Latin pulvīnus ‘pillow’, a word of unknown origin.
- pillow (n.)
- Middle English pilwe, from Old English pyle "pillow," from West Germanic *pulwi(n) (cognates: Old Saxon puli, Middle Dutch polu, Dutch peluw, Old High German pfuliwi, German Pfühl), an early borrowing (2c. or 3c.) from Latin pulvinus "little cushion, small pillow," of uncertain origin. Modern spelling is from mid-15c. Pillow fight (n.) attested from 1837; slang pillow talk (n.) first recorded 1939.
- pillow (v.)
- 1620s, from pillow (n.). Related: Pillowed; pillowing.
Example
- 1. Creative pillow designed for people who dream about ice cream .
- 2. I also wash my pillow cases multiple times a week .
- 3. She smiled into her pillow .
- 4. I found the medication under your pillow .
- 5. It smelled of her pillow back home .