Etymology Map
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Pillow

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a cushion to support the head in bed

Where does the word "pillow" come from? It comes from Latin pulvinus, passing through Old English before entering English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
pulvinus
Latin · classical
"cushion"
a cushion; its derivative pulvinar was the cushioned couch on which images of the gods were laid at a lectisternium feast
2
Stage 2 of 3
pyle
Old English · medieval
"cushion"
borrowed through West Germanic, like German Pfühl 'bolster'
3
Stage 3 of 3
pillow
English · 1300s
"head cushion for sleeping"
'pillow talk' is recorded from the 1930s and became the title of the 1959 Doris Day and Rock Hudson film
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Read the full story

Pillow’s story begins in Latin: pulvinus meant “cushion.” A cushion; its derivative pulvinar was the cushioned couch on which images of the gods were laid at a lectisternium feast. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old English as pyle. Borrowed through West Germanic, like German Pfühl 'bolster'. It reached English by 1300s as pillow. 'pillow talk' is recorded from the 1930s and became the title of the 1959 Doris Day and Rock Hudson film. Today, pillow means a cushion to support the head in bed.