LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

pīlum

pīlum n (genitive pīlī)
Classical[ˈpiː.ɫũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈpiː.lum]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. a pounder, pestle
  2. a heavy javelin, throwing spear, of the Roman soldier
    Near-synonym: iaculum

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

tēlum quod mīles Rōmānus in hostem iacit; ferrum longum habet.
pīlum -ī n — in Mille Verba, Bellum et Arma

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Missile · Hasta · Lancea · Jaculum · Verutum · Tragulum · Pilum

Missile is the most general name for a weapon used in fighting at a distance, from the spear to the arrow; hasta and lancea serve both for thrusting and hurling; hasta (from σχαστήριον, σχάζω,) as a genuine Roman weapon, δορύ; lancea, as a foreign weapon, supposed to have come originally from the Suevi, λόγχη; pilum, jaculum, verutum, are more for hurling; jaculum, as the most general expression, including the hunting spear, βέλος; verutum (from ὀρυχή) and tragulum (τρώγλη) military weapons for hurling, ἄκων; pilum (from πῆλαι) in the singular, as the peculiar weapon for hurling used by the Roman legion. Liv. ix. 19. Romano pilum haud paulo quam hasta vehementius ictu missuque telum.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepīlumpīla
genitivepīlīpīlōrum
dativepīlōpīlīs
accusativepīlumpīla
ablativepīlōpīlīs
vocativepīlumpīla

pīlum, i, n. for pis-lum, cf. piso, 1. pila, etc.,
I. a pounder, pestle of a mortar.
I. Lit.: pilum fabarium, Cato, R. R. 10; 18: quasi tollenonem aut pilum Graecum reciproces planā viā, a pounder, in using which, one side was raised while the other was depressed, Plaut. Fragm. ap. Fest. s v. reciprocare, p. 274 Müll.: pinsente pilo praeferrato, Plin. 18, 10, 23, § 97: pilo contusum, Vulg. Exod. 27, 20.—
II. Transf., the heavy javelin of the Roman infantry, which they hurled at the enemy at the commencement of the action, and then took to their swords: (caput) adfixum gestari jussit in pilo, Cic. Phil. 11, 2, 5: pilum, haud paulo quam hasta, vehementius ictu missuque telum, Liv. 9, 19; cf. Veg. Mil. 2, 15: milites e loco superiore pilis missis facile hostium phalangem perfregerunt, Caes. B. G. 1, 25: pilorum hastarumque honore circumdatus, Plin. Pan. 56, 5: in imperatorem suum legiones pila torserunt, Sen. Ira, 3, 2, 4; cf. Tac. A. 15, 7: pilum praepilatum, having a blunt or rounded end, Auct. B. Afr. 72. They were also used in sieges, being hurled at the enemy from the walls; these were called pila muralia, Caes. B. G. 5, 40; Tac. A. 4, 51.—Prov.: pilum inicere alicui, to make an attack on one, Plaut. Most. 3, 1, 43.—
B. Vis certe pila, i. e. to be primipilus of the triarii or veterans who carried two javelins each, Juv. 10, 94; v. Dict. of Antiq. p. 104.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *peys-der. Proto-Indo-European *pistlom Proto-Italic *pistlom Latin pīlum Inherited from Proto-Italic *pistlom, from Proto-Indo-European *pistlom, from *peys- (“to crush”).

Descendants
  • Italianpilo
  • Italianpillo
  • Romanianpil
  • Englishpile
  • Frenchpile
  • GermanPfeil
  • Portuguesepilo
  • Spanishpilo
  • Dutchpijl
  • Swedishpil

In English words that came into English from pīlum

  • pilepīlum
  • pilumpīlum

Quick answers

What does pīlum mean in Latin?
pīlum, a noun, means “a pounder, pestle; a heavy javelin, throwing spear, of the Roman soldier”.
What is the genitive of pīlum?
The genitive singular is pīlī. pīlum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce pīlum?
In classical Latin, [ˈpiː.ɫũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpiː.lum].