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piles

[pahyl] Origin

pile

1[pahyl] noun, verb, piled, pil·ing.
noun
1.
an assemblage of things laid or lying one upon the other: a pile of papers; a pile of bricks.
2.
Informal. a large number, quantity, or amount of anything: a pile of work.
3.
a heap of wood on which a dead body, a living person, or a sacrifice is burned; pyre.
4.
a lofty or large building or group of buildings: the noble pile of Windsor Castle.
5.
Informal. a large accumulation of money: They made a pile on Wall Street.
EXPAND
6.
a bundle of pieces of iron ready to be welded and drawn out into bars; fagot.
7.
reactor (def. 4).
8.
Electricity. voltaic pile.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
9.
to lay or dispose in a pile (often followed by up): to pile up the fallen autumn leaves.
10.
to accumulate or store (often followed by up): to pile up money; squirrels piling up nuts against the winter.
11.
to cover or load with a pile: He piled the wagon with hay.

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Piles is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
verb (used without object)
12.
to accumulate, as money, debts, evidence, etc. (usually followed by up).
13.
Informal. to move as a group in a more or less confused, disorderly cluster: to pile off a train.
14.
to gather, accumulate, or rise in a pile or piles (often followed by up): The snow is piling up on the roofs.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin pīla pillar, mole of stone


1. collection, heap, mass, accumulation, stack, mound, batch.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

pile

2[pahyl] noun, verb, piled, pil·ing.
noun
1.
a cylindrical or flat member of wood, steel, concrete, etc., often tapered or pointed at the lower end, hammered vertically into soil to form part of a foundation or retaining wall.
2.
Heraldry. an ordinary in the form of a wedge or triangle coming from one edge of the escutcheon, from the chief unless otherwise specified.
3.
Archery. the sharp head or striking end of an arrow, usually of metal and of the form of a wedge or conical nub.
verb (used with object)
4.
to furnish, strengthen, or support with piles.
5.
to drive piles into.
6.
in pile, Heraldry. (of a number of charges) arranged in the manner of a pile.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English; Old English pīl shaft < Latin pīlum javelin

pile

3[pahyl]
noun
2.
soft, fine hair or down.
3.
wool, fur, or pelage.
4.
a fabric with a surface of upright yarns, cut or looped, as corduroy, Turkish toweling, velvet, and velveteen.
5.
such a surface.
EXPAND
6.
one of the strands in such a surface.
COLLAPSE

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English piles hair, plumage < Latin pilus hair; -i- short in L but long in Anglicized school pronunciation

pile

5[pahyl]
noun
the lower of two dies for coining by hand.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English pyl reverse of a coin < Medieval Latin pīla, special use of Latin pīla pile1

pile

4[pahyl]
noun Usually, piles.
2.
the condition of having hemorrhoids.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English pyles (plural) < Latin pilae literally, balls. See pill1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
piles (paɪlz)
 
pl n
a nontechnical name for haemorrhoids
 
[C15: from Latin pilae balls (referring to the appearance of external piles)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pile
"soft, raised surface upon cloth," mid-14c., from Anglo-Norm. pyle or M.Du. pijl, both from L. pilus "hair." Phonological evidence rules out transmission via O.Fr. cognate peil, poil.
EXPAND

piles
"hemorrhoids," c.1400, from M.L. pili "piles," probably from L. pila "ball" from shape.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

pile (pīl)
n.
A hemorrhoid.

piles (pīlz)
pl.n.
See hemorrhoid.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

pile definition


  1. n.
    a large amount of money. : That old lady has a pile stashed in the bank.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
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