pilula

See also: pílula

Latin

Etymology

Diminutive from pila (“ball, globe”) +‎ -ula, said to be ultimately related to pilus (“hair”), since the balls used in Ancient Roman games were filled with hair.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpi.lu.la/, [ˈpɪɫ̪ʊɫ̪ä]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpi.lu.la/, [ˈpiːlulä]

Noun

pilula f (genitive pilulae); first declension

1. A small ball, globule; pellet.
2. (medicine) A pill.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pilula	pilulae
Genitive	pilulae	pilulārum
Dative	pilulae	pilulīs
Accusative	pilulam	pilulās
Ablative	pilulā	pilulīs
Vocative	pilula	pilulae

Synonyms

• (small ball, globule): globulus

Related terms

• pilāris
• pilārius
• pilīcrepus

Descendants

• Catalan: píndola
• French: pilule
  • → Romanian: pilulă
• Italian: pillola

• → Middle Low German: pille
  • → Danish: pille
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: pille
• Old Portuguese:
  • Galician: pílula
  • Portuguese: pílula
• Spanish: píldora

References

• “pilula”, in Charlton T[homas] Lewis; Charles [Lancaster] Short (1879) […] A New Latin Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company; Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• pilula in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• pilula in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette