pilule

English

Noun

pilule (plural pilules)

1. (medicine, obsolete) A little pill.

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin pilula, apparently first attested in the fourteenth century, in turn inherited from the Classical Latin, attested in the medical sense in Pliny. Note that Italian pillola and Spanish píldora are widely regarded as inheritances, not borrowings.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pi.lyl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

pilule f (plural pilules)

1. pill (small object to be swallowed)
2. (with the definite article la) the contraceptive pill

Derived terms

• se dorer la pilule
• pilule du lendemain

Further reading

• “pilule”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.