# pillow

Pronunciation: say "PIL-oh" US /ˈpɪl.oʊ/, UK /ˈpɪl.əʊ/

## Noun

1. A soft, padded cushion that a person rests their head on in bed.
   - Simple: A soft cushion that holds up your head when you sleep in bed.
   - _The hotel left a chocolate on each pillow every evening._
   - _She stacked two pillows behind her back to read in bed._
2. Any head support used for sleep, such as a neck pillow or a hard porcelain pillow.
   - Simple: Any kind of head rest used for sleeping, like a neck rest or a hard porcelain one.
   - _Many travelers carry a U-shaped pillow to keep the neck steady on flights._
   - _The exhibit displayed a hard porcelain pillow once used in place of a soft cushion._
4. A rounded, bulbous mass of lava formed when molten rock erupts underwater and cools rapidly.
   - Simple: A rounded lump of lava that forms when hot rock erupts under water and cools fast.
   - _Geologists mapped each pillow along the ancient seafloor ridge._
   - _The outcrop consisted of stacked pillows formed during an undersea eruption._
5. A piece of metal or wood that forms a support to equalize pressure, such as a bearing brass or pillow block.
   - Simple: A block of metal or wood that holds something up and spreads out the pressure on it.
   - _A new pillow block was fitted to seat the rotating axle._
   - _The mechanics aligned both pillows before tightening the drive shaft._
6. The socket that receives and supports the end of a pivot.
   - Simple: The hollow part that holds the turning end of a pin or pivot.
   - _The gate's pivot rested in a worn pillow that needed replacing._
   - _Old machines used iron pillows to seat their turning pivots._
7. A block fitted beneath the inner end of a bowsprit as support.
   - Simple: A block of wood that supports the inner end of a ship's bowsprit.
   - _Carpenters mortised a heavy pillow into the deck to seat the bowsprit._
   - _The vessel's pillows steadied the bowsprit against the pitching sea._
8. A plain, coarse variety of fustian cloth.
   - Simple: A plain, rough kind of thick cotton cloth.
   - _The workman's jacket was stitched from heavy pillow that resisted wear._
   - _Bolts of coarse pillow filled the shelves of the draper's shop._

## Verb

3. To support or cradle something softly, as if resting it on a cushion.
   - Simple: To rest something softly, the way a head rests on a cushion.
   - _Travelers often pillow their heads on rolled jackets during long bus rides._
   - _He pillowed her cheek gently against the cushion._

## Origin

From Middle English "pilwe," from Old English "pyle," from Proto-West Germanic "*pulwī," ultimately from Latin "pulvīnus" (cushion), which derived from "pulvis" (dust, powder) plus "-īnus," a reference to the filler of a pillow. It is a doublet of "pulvinus" and is cognate with Dutch "peluw" and German "Pfühl."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pillow (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).