Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

1. pĭlus, i, m., a hair (syn.: villus, seta).

  1. I. Lit.: capra pilos ministrat ad usum nauticum, Varr. R. R. 2, 11: munitae sunt palpebrae vallo pilorum, Cic. N. D. 2, 57, 143: caudae pilos equinae vellere, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 45: duris aspera crura pilis, Ov. A. A. 3, 194: contra pilum equum fricare, Pelag. Vet. 26: in capite homini plurimus pilus, Plin. 11, 37, 47, § 130.
    Prov.: non minus molestum est calvis quam comatis pilos velli, Sen. Tranq. An. 8, 2, 3: propius quidem est a sole mons quam campus aut valles, sed sic, quomodo est pilus pilo crassior, Sen. Q. N. 4, 11, 4.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. Collect., hair, the hair: fruticante pilo neglecta et squalida crura, Juv. 9, 15.
    2. B. As a designation of insignificance, a hair, a trifle; usually joined with a negative, not a hair, not a bit, not a whit (class.): ego ne pilo quidem minus me amabo, Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 16, 5: interea e Cappadociā ne pilum quidem, id. Att. 5, 20, 6: ne ullum pilum viri boni habere dicatur, has not a hair of a good man about him, id. Rosc. Com. 7, 20: non facit pili cohortem, does not value it a straw, Cat. 10, 13; cf.: nec pili facit uni, cares not a pin about it, id. 17, 16.
      In plur., a garment or fabric made of hair: vestitus pilis cameli, Vulg. Marc. 1, 6.

2. pīlus, i, m. [pilum], regularly joined with

  1. I. primus: primus pilus (in the gen. written also as one word, primipili), the division of the triarii in the Roman army: P. Sextius Baculus, primi pili centurio, Caes. B. G. 3, 5; id. B. C. 1, 13: T. Balventius, qui superiore anno primum pilum duxerat, had been leader, captain of the triarii, id. B. G. 5, 35; Liv. 42, 34, 11: aliquem ad primum pilum transducere, to transfer, advance to the triarii, Caes. B. C. 3, 53, 5: primos pilos ademit, took the command of the triarii, of the primipili, Suet. Calig. 44: vetus consuetudo tenuit, ut ex primo principe legionis promeretur centurio primi pili, qui non solum aquilae praeerat, verum etiam quatuor centurias in primā acie gubernabat, Veg. Mil. 2, 8.
    Without primus: referes pili praemia, Mart. 6, 58, 10; 1, 32, 3.
  2. II. Transf.: primipilus (in inscrr. also written PRIMOPIL, and abbrev. P. P.), the chief centurion of the triarii (the transf. arose from the circumstance that the chief centurion of this division was originally designated by the term primi pili, with the omission of the easily supplied centurio, as is shown by the following citation from Liv. 7, 41, 5; soon, however, from primi pili, a new word, primipilus or primopilus, was formed): primus centurio erat, quem nunc primi pili appellant, Liv. 7, 41, 5; 8, 8, 16: primipilo P. Sext. Baculo vulneribus confecto, Caes. B. G. 2, 25: aquilarum altera vix convelli a primipilo potuit, Val. Max. 1, 6, 11; Inscr. (of the time of Trajan) Orell. 799: SEX. AVLIENO SEX. F. PRIMOPIL. II., Inscr. (of the time of Tiberius or Caligula) Orell. 3426 M. P.; cf. Becker, Antiq. 3, 3, p. 264.