English
pile
Pile comes from Old French pile, from Latin pīla#pillar-pier-Latin ‘pillar, pier’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peys- ‘to grind, to crush’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peys-‘to grind, to crush’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpīla#pillar-pier-Latin‘pillar, pier’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400pile
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pyle‘pillar’
- Englishearliest quotation 1697pile
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peys-‘to grind, to crush’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpīla#pillar-pier-Latin‘pillar, pier’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400pile
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pyle‘pillar’
- Englishearliest quotation 1697pile
Earliest quotation: 1697, Virgil, (please specify the book number): “The pile o'erlooked the town and drew the fight.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peys- ‘to grind, to crush’
Another origin of pile
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peys-‘to grind, to crush’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pistlomreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCEsame formreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpīlum‘heavy javelin’
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*pīl‘a pointed shaft, javelin’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150pīl‘pointed stick’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pile
- Englishtodaysame form
Another origin of pile
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpilusuncertain
- Englishtodaypile
Another origin of pile
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilleus‘felt cap’uncertain
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpilus‘hair’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pil
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pile
- Englishtodaysame form
Another origin of pile
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpīla
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpile‘battery’
- Englishtodaysame form
Today it means
noun A mass of things heaped together; a heap.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peys- / pile