pill
/pɪl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.03 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.
noun
A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.
noun
Contraceptive medication, usually in the form of a pill to be taken by a woman; an oral contraceptive pill.
Informal; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Take two pills every hour in the apyrexia of intermittent fever, until eight are taken."
- "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"
- "Many specialists are requesting that this vitamin be included in all contraceptive pills, as women on the pill have a tendency to be depressed."
- ""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.""
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pil-? Latin pilus? Latin pila Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -ula Latin pilula, pillulabor. Middle Low German pilleder. Middle Dutch pilleder. Middle English pille English pill 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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
antipill
depill
depiller
dogpill
minipill
nanopill
pillbox
pillbug
pillhead
pillmaker
pillmaking
pillmonger