Meanings
pastille1
plural pastilles · alternative pastil
- Any small, usually round and somewhat flat, granular piece of material; a tablet.
Watercolors of professional quality come in small pastilles of dry pigment, in pans of semi-moist paint, or in tubes or bottles of liquid watercolor.
2003, The Complete Drawing & Painting Course, →ISBN, page 201- historicalspecificallyA small pellet containing aromatic substances, burned to diffuse a fragrance or to disinfect or fumigate.
At the end he felt faint and sick, and having lit some Algerian pastilles in a pierced copper brazier, he bathed his hands and forehead with a cool musk-scented vinegar.
1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
- historicalpharmacyA medicinal pill, originally made of compressed herbs.
In the desperate search for amatory satisfactions, the most monstrous ingredients have throughout the ages, been sought and compounded into electuaries and pastilles, philtres and ointments.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 14 - pharmacyA candy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses.
Synonyms: cough drop, troche
present singular third person pastilles · participle present pastilling · participle past pastilled · past pastilled
- transitiveTo make into a pastille.
pastille2
plural pastilles
- nonstandardobsoleteartNonstandard spelling of pastel (“a crayon made from a type of dried paste; a drawing made using such crayons”).
Pastille, Crayon or Chalk on Photograph.
1873, Annual Report of the State Board of Agriculture of the State of Missouri2 more examples
Best specimen of fancy painting, pastille, Emily C. Dills, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
1867, Indiana. State Board of Agriculture, Annual Report of the Indiana State Board of AgriculturePainting with water color, oil, or pastille, from still life.
1913, University of Kansas, Bulletin - Volume 14, Issue 12, page 35
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA candy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
pastille · noun, verb
- Latinpastillus
- Spanishpastilla“candy or medicinal lozenge; small fragrant pellet burnt to perfume the air”
- Frenchpastille“candy or medicinal lozenge; small fragrant pellet burnt to perfume the air; pellet, pill”
- Proto-Indo-European*peh₂-“to protect; to shepherd”
- Latinpastillus
- Old Frenchpastel
- Middle Englishpastil
- Englishpastille
Partly from the following: * From Late Middle English pastil, pastill (“crushed leek leaves; vegetable pulp”), borrowed from Old French pastel, probably from Latin pastillus, pastillum (“small bread roll; lozenge to freshen breath; medicated lozenge”), possibly from pāstus (“fed, nourished; consumed; having eaten; of an animal: driven to pasture, pastured; having browsed or grazed”) + -illus (diminutive suffix). Pāstus is the perfect passive participle of pāscō (“to feed, nourish; to maintain, support; of an animal: to drive to pasture, pasture; to browse, graze”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to protect; to shepherd”). * Borrowed from French pastille (“candy or medicinal lozenge; small fragrant pellet burnt to perfume the air; pellet, pill”), and from its etymon Spanish pastilla (“candy or medicinal lozenge; small fragrant pellet burnt to perfume the air”), from Latin pastillus, pastillum; see above. Doublet of pastegh, pastel, pastiglia, pastila, and pastilla.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἔκλειγμα, σφρᾱγῑ́ς
- ἔκλειγμα (ékleigma)medicinal pill
- σφρᾱγῑ́ς (sphrāgī́s)medicinal pill
- πᾰ́στῐλλος (pắstĭllos)medicinal pill
Arabic قرص طبي محلى
- قرص طبي محلىflavoured candy or sweet
Bulgarian таблетка
- таблетка (tabletka)medicinal pill
Catalan pastilla, pastilla
- pastillaflavoured candy or sweet
- pastillasmall, usually round and somewhat flat, granular piece of material — see also tablet
- pevetsmall pellet containing aromatic substances, burned to diffuse a fragrance or to disinfect or fumigate
- pastillamedicinal pill
Czech pastilka, pastilka
- pastilkamedicinal pill
- pastilkacandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Danish pastil
- pastilflavoured candy or sweet
Esperanto pastelo
- pasteloflavoured candy or sweet
Finnish pastilli, pastilli
- pastilliflavoured candy or sweet
- pastillismall, usually round and somewhat flat, granular piece of material — see also tablet
- kurkkupastillimedicinal pill
- pastillicandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
- kurkkupastillicandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
French pastille, pastille
- pastilleflavoured candy or sweet
- pastillesmall, usually round and somewhat flat, granular piece of material — see also tablet
German Pastila, Pastille
- Pastilaflavoured candy or sweet
- Pastilleflavoured candy or sweet
- Pastillemedicinal pill
Greek παστίλια, παστίλια
- παστίλια (pastília)flavoured candy or sweet
- παστίλια (pastília)small, usually round and somewhat flat, granular piece of material — see also tablet
- παστίλια (pastília)candy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Hungarian pasztilla
- pasztillaflavoured candy or sweet
Indonesian pastiles
- pastilesflavoured candy or sweet
Italian pastiglia, pastiglia
- pastigliaflavoured candy or sweet
- pastigliamedicinal pill
- pastigliacandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Japanese トローチ
- トローチflavoured candy or sweet
Latin pastillus, pastillus
- pastillusflavoured candy or sweet
- pastillusmedicinal pill
Norwegian Bokmål pastill, pastill
- pastillflavoured candy or sweet
- pastillmedicinal pill
- pastillcandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Polish pastylka, landrynka
- pastylkaflavoured candy or sweet
- landrynkaflavoured candy or sweet
- pastylkamedicinal pill
- pastylkacandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Portuguese pastilha, pastilha
- pastilhasmall, usually round and somewhat flat, granular piece of material — see also tablet
- pastilhacandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Romanian pastilă, pastilă
- pastilăflavoured candy or sweet
- pastilămedicinal pill
- pastilăcandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Russian монпансье́, ледене́ц
- монпансье́ (monpansʹjé)flavoured candy or sweet
- ледене́ц (ledenéc)flavoured candy or sweet
- пасти́лка (pastílka)medicinal pill
- драже́ (dražé)medicinal pill
- ледене́ц (ledenéc)medicinal pill
- лепёшка (lepjóška)medicinal pill
- табле́тка (tablétka)medicinal pill
Spanish gomita, pastilla
- gomitaflavoured candy or sweet
- pastillaflavoured candy or sweet
- pastillasmall, usually round and somewhat flat, granular piece of material — see also tablet
Swedish pastill, pastill
- pastillflavoured candy or sweet
- pastillcandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Turkish pastil, pastil
- pastilflavoured candy or sweet
- pastilcandy- or sweet-like lozenge, which, when sucked, releases substances that soothe a sore throat, and sometimes vapours to help unblock the nose or sinuses
Ukrainian монпансьє
- монпансьє (monpansʹje)flavoured candy or sweet
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with pastille
Cite this entry
pastille. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pastille
“pastille.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pastille. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pastille,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pastille.
Source: pastille on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.