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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

pillion.

A pad behind the saddle of a horse for a second rider.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpɪljən/
  1. A pad behind the saddle of a horse for a second rider.

  2. A similar second saddle on a bicycle or motorcycle for a passenger.

  3. The person riding in the pillion.

  4. The cushion of a saddle.

Where this word comes from

From Scottish Gaelic pillean (“little rug”), from Latin pellis (“animal skin, pelt”).

adv/ˈpɪljən/
  1. Riding behind the driving rider, as when positioned on the rump of a mount.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Scottish Gaelic pillean (“little rug”), from Latin pellis (“animal skin, pelt”).

verb/ˈpɪljən/
  1. To place (a person) on a pillion.

    transitive
  2. To ride on a pillion.

    intransitive
  3. To put a pillion on a horse.

Where this word comes from

From Scottish Gaelic pillean (“little rug”), from Latin pellis (“animal skin, pelt”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.