Pilum

//ˈpaɪləm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A Roman military javelin. historical

    "Besides a lighter spear, the Roman legionary grasped in his right hand the formidable pilum, a ponderous javelin whose utmost length was about six feet and which was terminated by a massy triangular point of steel of about eighteen inches."

  2. 2
    The columella on the surface of a pollen grain.

Example

More examples

"Besides a lighter spear, the Roman legionary grasped in his right hand the formidable pilum, a ponderous javelin whose utmost length was about six feet and which was terminated by a massy triangular point of steel of about eighteen inches."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pilum. Doublet of pile.

More for "pilum"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.