*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of pilus

Learned borrowing from Latin pilus (“hair”). Doublet of pile.

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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A hair. · A hairlike appendage found on the cell surface of many bacteria. · A bacterial protein that has several biochemical functions.

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

Learned borrowing from Latin pilus (“hair”). Doublet of pile.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Doublet mentionpileen
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:pilus<id:hair><t:hair>",
        "text": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"hair\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*pil-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"pilus\", \"gloss\" : \"hair\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"pilus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"pilus\">\nLearned borrowing from Latin pilus (“hair”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pile"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of pile"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:pilus<id:hair><t:hair>",
        "text": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Latin pilus (“hair”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "pilus",
      "pilus#Latin:_hair"
    ],
    [
      "pile",
      "pile#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A hair.",
        "A hairlike appendage found on the cell surface of many bacteria.",
        "A bacterial protein that has several biochemical functions."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "b00402bcbb322d9dc1ef04223fe68ef2fb7a3e61688d3e340b56c868d8078dbf",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d1b5062d07077493398d52463f09aa40377db45ad74b3993633ad70070efc999",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 823114
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "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 pilus →

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-cGlsdXM