I had not heard of a pillion (auxiliary saddle on a horse, bike, etc) until someone mentioned it on a different forum. What's its origin?

I've always thought 'pillions' were the medicines ingested by midgets .... excuse me ... little people.

From the AHD:

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Probably from Scottish Gaelic pillean, diminutive of peall 'rug', or Irish Gaelic pillín, diminutive of pell 'rug', both from Old Irish pell from Latin pellis 'animal skin' from PIE *pel- 'skin'

I had known pillion to mean a hat worn by a priest. Looking it up on the OED, I see that meaning is, "A cap or hat, spec. a cap worn by a scholar, esp. a doctor of divinity. Also attrib., as pillion-hat." It comes from the Anglo-Norman pilion, meaning "cap," from the end of the 13th century or earlier. Apparently the Latin pileus, meaning "felt cap," is also related.

Didn't Carl Sagan talk about pillions and pillions of stars?

Must mean those priests' hats look like auxiliary saddles? The first thing I thought of, though was the roller on an old fashioned typewriter. But that was a platen, or something, wasn't it?

Wordmatic

Must mean those priests' hats look like auxiliary saddles?

No, as they have two different etymologies, there are two separate words. They're just homonyms.

The word is familiar to me but only in the first sense mentioned. I've only known "pillion" to mean a second seat on a motor-bike. I never drove a bike myself but rode on the pillion in my youth several times behind friends. It was fairly common then for the "Rockers" (motorcyclists) and "Mods" (scooter-riders) to travel in groups, with their girlfriends sitting on the pillion, on their way to seaside towns like Brighton in search of a punch-up.

Both of my bike have pillions, being pre-war. When rear suspension on bikes became common in the 1940s, and the need for a well sprung saddle and pillion became less necessary, dual seats were introduced - a neater and more comfortable alternative to the separate saddle and pillion combination.

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Originally posted by zmježd:
Must mean those priests' hats look like auxiliary saddles?

No, as they have two different etymologies, there are two separate words. They're just homonyms.

Tho the two meanings for pillion derive from two different Latin words, I wonder if the "pel" PIE root is the source for both? It might have meant an animal's hide, and spun off words related to both both skin and hair.

L pilleus (or pilleum), felt cap, skullcap (close-fitting), akin to pilus, hair.......

L pellis skin, hide; pelt

Spanish has a number of derivations such as pelo - hair; pelaje - fur; piel - skin or leather

Here's one that seems to bring both senses to bear: pillage, from O.Fr. pillage (n.) "plunder," from piller "to plunder," possibly from V.L. *piliare "to plunder," probably from a fig. use of L. pilare "to strip of hair," perhaps also meaning "to skin" (speculations by Online Etymology Dictionary at etymonline.com)

The two Latin words, pilleus 'cap' and pellis 'skin, hide' are usually derived from two separate PIE roots: *pil- hair' (also seen in Germani, e.g., English felt, German filz) and *pel- 'skin'.

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Altho Pokorny puts "felt" under 2a pel "to cause to move, drive" or 2b pel "flour".

Altho Pokorny puts "felt" under 2a pel "to cause to move, drive" or 2b pel "flour".

Well, that's what I get for only looking at Walde (which I see is online). And, not reading too carefully. Also, Walde mentions an article by Erdmann, which I found online, too (link). He leans to the 'hair' origin. Felt is kind of hairy.

I think Pokorny's reasoning is that felt is compressed. But the "hair" origin makes sense too.

thanks for the link to Walde.

Fascinating stuff guys, thanks

Pillion seats are still common on motorcycles whose owners want a sleeker, cleaner look. They are about the same size as one of Jackie Kennedy-Onassis' pillion hats. There is a symmetry to these things.