Depilling

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Removing the small balls of tangled fiber that form on the surface of a knitted or woven garment after wear and washing
2. Clearing away the tiny fiber knots, known as pills, that gather on the face of sweaters and other textiles
3. Getting rid of the fuzzy clusters of entangled threads that collect on clothing fabric over time through friction

Etymology: "Depilling" is formed from "de-" plus "pill" plus the "-ing" suffix. The "de-" prefix, from Latin "de" meaning "down" or "away," signals removal, so the word literally describes taking pills off a fabric. The "-ing" ending simply turns the action into a verb form. The "pill" here has nothing to do with medicine. It comes from the Latin "pilus," meaning "hair," which also gave English words like "pile" for a nap of soft fibers on a fabric. Its use for the small balls of tangled fibers that form on knitwear is a later application of that older sense, and the metaphor is a simple one: the tangled balls resemble tiny pellets. The verb's formation follows the same pattern as other "de-" verbs such as "defrost" and "debone," where the prefix reverses or removes the state named by the base word. Since the tangles on a sweater must be removed before the garment looks fresh again, the word names exactly the job a sweater-owner needs to do.