piller
/ˈpɪlər/
noun
Origin
Old French
piller — to plunder
Overview
Meaning Now
- A person who commits pillage or plunder; a plunderer or robber.
- Obsolete form of 'pillar'.
Literal older meaning
One who takes booty by force.
Language path
Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
pillour
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
In Middle English, 'piller' was frequently used to describe soldiers or bandits who engaged in pillaging. Due to orthographic inconsistency, it was also commonly used as a variant spelling for 'pillar' (a supporting architectural element), leading to historical confusion in texts.
Evolution
- 12th century Old French
piller
“to loot, to pillage”
- 14th century Middle English
pillour
“plunderer”
Derived from the verb 'pille'
- 16th century English
piller
“a plunderer or a column (archaic spelling)”
Often confused with 'pillar' due to spelling variation
Connections
Word parts
pill
root
to strip, plunder
er
suffix
agent noun
Related across languages
French
to plunder
Explore next
Related to piller
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.