pill

pill

pill¹ [pil]

n.

[LME pylle, contr. < L pilula, dim. of pila, a ball: see PILES]

1. a small ball, tablet, capsule, etc. of medicine to be swallowed whole

2. anything unpleasant but unavoidable

3.

a) something like a pill in shape

b) Slang a baseball, golf ball, etc.

4. Slang an unpleasant or boring person

vt.

1. to dose with pills

2. to form into pills

3. Slang to blackball

vi.

to form into small balls, as fuzz on a fabric

——————

the pill or the Pill

☆ Informal any contraceptive drug for women, taken in the form of a pill

pill² [pil]

vt., vi.

[ME pilien, to rob, PEEL¹, ult. < ? L pilare, to make bald < pilus, a hair]

1. Archaic to pillage; plunder [Now Brit. Dial.]

2. [Now Brit. Dial.] to peel