Pillowy

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈpɪ.ləʊ.(w)i/

Definitions

1. Having a soft, yielding texture that resembles the comfort and plushness of a pillow
2. Exhibiting a gentle, cushioned quality that evokes a feeling of softness akin to a fluffy surface
3. Characterized by a gentle, soft texture that feels as comfortable and yielding as a pillow

Etymology: Pillowy is a plain formation: the noun "pillow" with the adjective-forming suffix "-y," which turns a noun into a word meaning "having the qualities of" or "like" that noun. The suffix has a long ancestry, traceable back through Old English "-ig" and Proto-Germanic "-gaz" to a root shared by many Germanic languages, where it did the same job of making adjectives from nouns. The noun underneath it, "pillow," came into English from Old English "pyle" or "pylwe," a word that goes back to a Latin source, "pulvinus," meaning cushion. Pillowy therefore describes something that is soft and sunken in the way a pillow is, a sense most often applied to soft clouds, bedding, and cushioned surfaces.

Synonyms: soft, fluffy, cushiony, plush, cloud-like

Antonyms: hard, firm, stiff, rigid, unyielding