▪ I. ˈpilling, vbl. n.
[f. pill v.1 + -ing1.]
The action of pill v.1 in its various senses.
1. † a. Plundering, robbing, spoliation; extortion.
| α c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 417 A prest shulde raþere..suffere deþ or he assentide..to siche piling of pore men. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 369 Þat hopede to blende his pylyng and hys robborie by þe sympilnesse of Wolston. |
| β 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles i. 13 By pillynge of ȝoure peple ȝoure prynces to plese. 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) v. viii. 206/1 They be..full of crueltee in pyllynge of the poore people. 1556 Olde Antichrist 73 b, The pilling and rauine, that they vse openly. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 990 All began prowdly to plot unto themselves nothing but sackings, pillings, taking of prisoners. 1627 Speed England, etc. Irel. iv. §7 Certaine..oppressed the poore people a long time with extorting, pilling, and spoiling. |
b. arch. or dial. pilling (peeling) and polling: see pill v.1 9.
| 1547 Homilies i. Agst. Adultery ii. (1859) 125 Doth not the adulterer give his mind..to polling and pilling of other? 1607 Dekker Knts. Conjur. (1842) 58 Heers worse pilling and polling then amongst my countrey-men the vsurers. 1658 J. Harrington Prerog. Pop. Govt. ii. ii. (1700) 332 The pilling and polling of her Provinces, which happen'd through the Avarice, and Luxury of her Nobility. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Berks. (1662) 90 Vexed at his polling and peeling of the English people. |
2. † The removal or falling off of hair; depilation.
| 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer i. H, The pilling of the browes and forehead. 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. lxv. 90 The ashes of this Bulbe..cureth the pilling or falling of the haire in spots. 1611 Cotgr., Pelement, a pilling; a pulling off the haire. 1635 Swan Spec. M. vi. §4 (1643) 248 The ashes..cure the pilling of the hair from the head. |
b. The gathering of fibres into small balls of fluff on the surface of a fabric (see pill v.1 6 c).
| 1958 New Scientist 3 Apr. 17/2 In a test cardigan..the treated sleeve showed a remarkable resistence to pilling. 1959 A. J. Hall Stand. Handbk. Textiles (ed. 5) v. 314 Pilling has become especially noticeable since the introduction of the synthetic fibres. 1965 New Scientist 8 Apr. 95/1 Synthetic fabrics have one common short-coming: they are hightly susceptible to what is known as ‘pilling’, a tendency to form small tangled knots of fibres. 1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 244 Pilling,..the term used when fibres gather into a ball on the surface. 1970 Cabinet Maker & Retail Furnisher 23 Oct. 173/2 The inclusion of nylon in the blend..aggravated the pilling. 1970 Which? Oct. 300/2 A few brands suffered slightly from pilling (little balls of fibre on the surface). 1972 Times 28 Nov. 19/8 E. Gomme..has encountered problems of ‘pilling’ in the fabric. 1974 Amer. Speech 1970 XLV. 179 An antistatic pilling-resistant (resistant to gathering small ‘pills’ of fuzz) finish. |
3. Removal of the skin, bark, etc.: = peeling vbl. n. 1 b. Now dial.
| 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Escorcement, a barking of trees, a pilling, a rinding. 1618 in N. Riding Rec. Soc. (1884) II. 175 A Gillinge man for pilling of the barke. 1742 MS. Agreement (co. Derby), [Lessee to have] authority for pilling, cutting down..wood. 1794 Trans. Soc. Arts XII. 138 Pilling [of osiers], per load. |
† b. The coming off of bark, skin, etc.: = peeling vbl. n. 1 c. Obs.
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 141 A faire medicine to cure..the scailing and pilling of the face. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 113 It helps the pilling of the skin about the nails. |
4. concr. That which is peeled or peels off: = peeling vbl. n. 2. Now dial.
| c 1400 Rowland & O. 1265 He sett þ⊇ lawes of Cristyantee Nott at a pillynge of a tree. 1418 Page Siege of Rouen in Hist. Coll. Citizen Lond. (Camden) 18 Oynonnys, lykys, bothe in fere Was to hem a mete fulle dere;..Welle was hym that myght gete a pyllynge. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §136 Bastes or pyllynge of wythy or elme to bynde them with. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 31 That part of the Hempe which is next to the rind or pilling..is worst. 1671 Grew Anat. Plants vi. §2 The Pilling [of an Apple] is but the Continuation of the utmost part of the Barque. 1828 Craven Gloss. (ed. 2) s.v., Potatoe pillings. 1877 Holderness Gloss., Pillins, sb. pl., the skins of onions, potatoes, &c., after removal. [So in many dialects: see Eng. Dial. Dict.] |
5. attrib., as pilling-knife, pilling-iron.
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 350/2 The Pilling Knife, of some called a Pilling Iron,..takes off all the Hair of the Hide; being a four square Iron set in two Handles, Hooped. |
▪ II. ˈpilling, ppl. a.
[f. pill v.1 + -ing2.]
That pills. a. Plundering, rifling, thieving. arch.
| 1586 Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. iii. iii. 250 The galleys and those pilling brigandines, That..hover in the Straits for Christians' wrack. a 1618 Sylvester Paradox Wks. (Grosart) II. 56 To guard from souldiers pilling hands. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccliv. (1714) 271 Suppose Pilling and Polling Officers, as Busie upon the People as these Flies were upon the Fox. |
b. That peels. Now dial.
| [1483 Cath. Angl. 279/1 Pillynge..Pyllynge, vellicans.] 1681 Cotton Wond. Peak (ed. 4) 42 Neighbours..Must needs perceive the pilling Cliff retire. |