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pillow

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pillow¹

  • /ˈpɪ.ləʊ/ UK
  • /ˈpɪ.loʊ/ [ˈpʰɪ.loʊ] US
  • /ˈpɛ.loʊ/ US, dialectal

Rhymes with -ɪləʊ

Where it comes from

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

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Peel (“pillow”), Alemannic German Pfulme (“pillow”), Dutch peluw (“a long, narrow pillow”), German Pfühl (“a big and soft pillow”), German Low German Pöhl (“pad, pillow, cushion”).

noun pillows

  1. countable, uncountable A soft cushion used to support the head in bed. The appearance of the entire tomb is as if the warrior had seen the vision of Christ in his dying moments, and had fallen back peacefully upon his pillow, with his eyes still turned to it, and his hands clasped in prayer.
  2. countable, uncountable Any similar head support used for sleep, such as a neck pillow or a hard porcelain pillow. She slept with her head on the pillow.
  3. countable, uncountable A pillow lava.
  4. countable, uncountable A piece of metal or wood, forming a support to equalize pressure; a brass; a pillow block.
  5. countable, uncountable A block under the inner end of a bowsprit.
  6. countable, uncountable The socket of a pivot.
  7. uncountable A kind of plain, coarse fustian.
  8. countable, in plural, uncountable A woman's breast, especially when large and seemingly soft.

verb pillows · pillowing · pillowed

  1. transitive To rest as on a pillow. ...but Lucy was too thoroughly exhausted to awaken. There she lay, her head pillowed upon her arm, like a child that had cried itself to rest; while Francesca bent over her,...

Pillow²

proper noun Pillows · Pellow

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: rest, pad, cushion, bag, mat, bed, sock, buffer, seating, fatty, sausage, pudding, donut, width, skank, orthopnea

Translations

Every language

noun soft cushion used to support the head in bed

Españolalmohada, citara
한국어베개 begae
日本語枕 makura
中文枕頭 /枕头 zhěntou
हिन्दीसिरहाना sirhānā, शिरोपधान śiropdhān
Kiswahilimto
Portuguêstravesseiro, almofada
Françaisoreiller, têtière, coussin
DeutschKopfkissen, Kissen
Italianoguanciale, cuscino, testiera
Ελληνικάμαξιλάρι maxilári, προσκέφαλο proskéfalo
Românăpernă, perină
Русскийподу́шка podúška
Tiếng Việtgối
العربيةوِسَادَة wisāda, مِخَدَّة miḵadda
עבריתכָּרִית karít

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Cite this
MLA

"pillow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pillow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pillow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pillow

Chicago

"pillow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pillow.

BibTeX
@misc{pillow_2026,
  title = {pillow},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pillow},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}