Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Pillow

Pil′low

,
Noun.
[OE.
pilwe
, AS.
pyle
, fr. L.
pilvinus
.]
1.
Anything used to support the head of a person when reposing; especially, a sack or case filled with feathers, down, hair, or other soft material.
[Resty sloth] finds the down
pillow
hard.
Shakespeare
2.
(Mach.)
A piece of metal or wood, forming a support to equalize pressure; a brass; a pillow block.
[R.]
3.
(Naut.)
A block under the inner end of a bowsprit.
4.
A kind of plain, coarse fustian.
Lace pillow
,
a cushion used in making hand-wrought lace.
Pillow bier
[OE.
pilwebere
; cf. LG.
büre
a pillowcase]
,
a pillowcase; pillow slip.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
Pillow block
(Mach.)
,
a block, or standard, for supporting a journal, as of a shaft. It is usually bolted to the frame or foundation of a machine, and is often furnished with journal boxes, and a movable cover, or cap, for tightening the bearings by means of bolts; – called also
pillar block
, or
plumber block
.
Pillow lace
,
handmade lace wrought with bobbins upon a lace pillow.
Pillow of a plow
,
a crosspiece of wood which serves to raise or lower the beam.
Pillow sham
,
an ornamental covering laid over a pillow when not in use.
Pillow slip
,
a pillowcase.

Pil′low

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Pillowed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Pillowing
.]
To rest or lay upon, or as upon, a pillow; to support;
as, to
pillow
the head
.
Pillows
his chin upon an orient wave.
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition


Pillow

PIL'LOW

,
Noun.
[L. pulvinar; from L. pilus, hair, or from stuffing.]
1.
A long cushion to support the head of a person when reposing on a bed; a sack or case filled with feathers, down or other soft material.
2.
In a ship, the block on which the inner end of a bowsprit is supported.
The pillow of a plow, is a cross piece of wood which serves to raise or lower the beam.

PIL'LOW

,
Verb.
T.
To rest or lay on for support.

Definition 2024


pillow

pillow

English

pillows (soft cushions)

Noun

pillow (plural pillows)

  1. A soft cushion used to support the head in bed.
  2. (geology) A pillow lava.
  3. (engineering) A piece of metal or wood, forming a support to equalize pressure; a brass; a pillow block.
  4. (nautical) A block under the inner end of a bowsprit.
  5. A kind of plain, coarse fustian.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

pillow (third-person singular simple present pillows, present participle pillowing, simple past and past participle pillowed)

  1. (transitive) To rest as on a pillow.
    • 1942: She had pillowed her head on her arm — Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (Canongate 2006, p. 815-6)