Peel Is the Same Word as Pill
To peel is to strip off an outer layer. Its root means to strip bare.
To peel is to remove the outer covering of something; the noun names that covering. It comes from Latin *pilare*, to strip of hair, from *pilus*, a hair, and the same root gives *depilatory* and the verb *pill* meaning to lose fibres, as a jumper does. A pilling sweater and a peeled apple are doing the same thing. A separate *peel* is the long flat shovel used to slide bread into an oven, from Latin *pala*, a spade.
- To strip the skin. *Peeling an apple.*
- The skin. *Orange peel.*
- To come off in layers. *Peeling paint.*
- A baker's shovel. *A pizza peel.*
- Latin — *pilare*, to strip of hair. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | peel | Peeling. |
| Noun | peel | The peel. |
| Agent | peeler | A peeler. |
| Related | pill | To pill. |
| Latin | pilus | A hair. |
- He peeled the potatoes.Kitchen.
- The paint is peeling.Surface.
- A pizza peel.Tool.
The pilus family
- Peel — to strip the outer layer
- Pill — to shed fibres into small balls
- Depilatory — a hair remover
- Caterpillar — probably a hairy cat
- Plush — from a word for shaggy nap, same root
Old English *pilian*, from Latin *pilare*, to strip of hair, from *pilus*, a hair.
Is peeling related to a pilling jumper?
Yes. Both come from a Latin root meaning to strip of hair, and both describe fibres or layers coming away.
What is a baker's peel?
A long flat shovel used to slide loaves into an oven, from Latin pala, a spade, unrelated to the skin word.