English word origin

Etymology of pilly

From pill + -y. In some cases, pill is a clipping of a longer word.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

adj

Covered in pills (particles created by mechanical wear). · Characterized by or involving many pills.

noun

Pill. · A pillhead. · The lilly-pilly. · Pilchard.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From pill + -y. In some cases, pill is a clipping of a longer word.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "suffix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pill",
        "3": "y"
      },
      "expansion": "pill + -y"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "pill",
      "pill#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Covered in pills (particles created by mechanical wear).",
        "Characterized by or involving many pills."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4634876
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Pill.",
        "A pillhead.",
        "The lilly-pilly.",
        "Pilchard."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ],
      "recordId": "97849c90e3fafe3ce1876eefffe8913d2428132a4d26795b9c1fecc5aea6ad4a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "385500a6544d11cb0dae858e3670971f679c2efaf75d30f1b98bb29d98d7c00d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4634877
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for pilly →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-cGlsbHk