pile

pile
English has three words pile. The commonest, ‘heap’ [15], originally meant ‘pillar’. It comes ultimately from Latin pīla ‘pillar’, source also of English pilaster, pillar, etc. This evolved in meaning to ‘pier or harbour wall made of stones’, and inspired a derived verb pīlāre ‘heap up’ (source of English compile [14]). The sense ‘heap’ came to the fore in Old French pile, and passed into English. Pile ‘post driven into the ground’ [OE] was borrowed into Old English from Latin pīlum ‘javelin’. It was originally used for a ‘throwing spear’, ‘arrow’, or ‘spike’, and its present-day use did not emerge (via ‘pointed stake or post’) until the Middle English period. Pile ‘nap on cloth, carpets, etc’ [15] probably comes via Anglo-Norman pyle from Latin pilus ‘hair’ (which may be distantly related to English pillage and pluck, and lies behind English depilatory [17]). => COMPILE, PILASTER, PILLAR; DEPILATORY

The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins. 2013.

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  • pile — pile …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • pilé — pilé …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • pile — 1. (pi l ) s. f. 1°   Amas de choses placées les unes sur les autres. •   Leurs débris sont couverts d une pile de morts, MAIRET Mort d Asdrub. I, 3. •   Ils [la famille de M. le Prince] eurent tant de peur qu on ne s excusât faute de manteaux,… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Pile — Pile, n. [F. pile, L. pila a pillar, a pier or mole of stone. Cf. {Pillar}.] 1. A mass of things heaped together; a heap; as, a pile of stones; a pile of wood. [1913 Webster] 2. A mass formed in layers; as, a pile of shot. [1913 Webster] 3. A… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pile — Pile, n. [AS. p[=i]l arrow, stake, L. pilum javelin; but cf. also L. pila pillar.] 1. A large stake, or piece of timber, pointed and driven into the earth, as at the bottom of a river, or in a harbor where the ground is soft, for the support of a …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pile — may refer to:*Pile foundation, type of deep foundation *Pile (textile), fabric with raised surface made of upright loops or strands of yarn ** Carpet pile * Nuclear pile, early term for a nuclear reactor, typically one constructed of graphite *… …   Wikipedia

  • Pile — ist der Name mehrerer Personen: Frederick Alfred Pile (1884–1976), britischer General im zweiten Weltkrieg William Anderson Pile (1829–1889), US amerikanischer General und Politiker Pile bezeichnet außerdem: Chicago Pile, den ersten Kernreaktor… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pile — Ⅰ. pile UK US /paɪl/ noun [C] ► a large amount of something: »a pile of cash/money »consumers with piles of credit card debt » I have piles of paperwork to finish. ● at the bottom/top of the pile Cf. at the top of the pile → See also …   Financial and business terms

  • pile — Ⅰ. pile [1] ► NOUN 1) a heap of things laid or lying one on top of another. 2) informal a large amount. 3) a large imposing building. ► VERB 1) place (things) one on top of the other. 2) ( …   English terms dictionary

  • pile on — ● pile * * * pile on [phrasal verb] 1 pile on (something) : to put a large amount of (something) on something or someone He piled on the gravy. The teacher punished the class by piling on more work. [=the teacher punished the class by giving them …   Useful english dictionary

  • Pile — Pile, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Piled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Piling}.] 1. To lay or throw into a pile or heap; to heap up; to collect into a mass; to accumulate; to amass; often with up; as, to pile up wood. Hills piled on hills. Dryden. Life piled on… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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