English
pellet
Pellet comes from Old French pelote ‘small ball’, and goes back to Latin pila.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpila‘ball’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pilottareconstructeddiminutive of pila
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400pelote‘small ball’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishtodaypellet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpila‘ball’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pilottareconstructeddiminutive of pila
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400pelote‘small ball’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishtodaypellet
Linked words
through Latin pilus ‘hair’
plush, piles, peel, pilar, pillage, 21 more
through Latin pila ‘ball’
through Old French pelote ‘small ball’
Today it means
noun A small, compressed, hard chunk of matter.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin pila / pellet