pill
UK[pɪl]US[pɪl]
n
A small, solid piece of medicine that you swallow whole.
n
A small, round object of any substance.
n
(informal, usually singular) An unpleasant or boring person.
Etymology
The word "pill" has a straightforward journey from a simple description of shape to a specific medical term. It originates from the Latin word 'pilula', meaning "little ball", a diminutive form of 'pila' (ball). This Latin term was borrowed into various European languages, including Middle Dutch and Middle Low German, before entering Middle English. The core semantic logic is clear: the modern medicinal pill retains the original concept of a small, round, compact object, with its meaning narrowing to its most common pharmaceutical context while also extending metaphorically to describe other small spheres or, informally, a tedious person.
Analysis
This word is a simplex form. It is a loanword from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German 'pille', which itself derived from Latin 'pilula', a diminutive of 'pila' meaning "ball".
Examples
She takes a vitamin pill every morning with breakfast.
The machine sorted the metal pills from the plastic ones.
He can be a real pill when he hasn't had enough sleep.