pulvillio

P3U1L1V4I1L1L1I1O1

noun

A kind of perfumed cosmetic powder, applied to the skin, hair or wig.

OriginSpanish polvillo →
First used 17th c.Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounpulvillio (countable and uncountable, plural pulvillios)

plural pulvillios · alternative pulvil · alternative pulvilio · alternative pulville

  1. archaiccountablehistoricaluncountableA kind of perfumed cosmetic powder, applied to the skin, hair or wig.First known use 17th c.

    Smells of incense, ambergris, and pulvillios.

    1711 May 22 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, May 12, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 63; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC
    1 more example

    [H]is own skull, at the same instant, descended upon the side of his couch with such violence, that his periwig was struck off, and the whole room filled with pulvilio.

    1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC

Origin

  1. Spanishpolvillo
  2. Englishpulvillio

From Spanish polvillo, diminutive of polvo (“dust, powder”). Compare later pulvil.

More words from Spanish

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pulvillio. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pulvillio

MLA

“pulvillio.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pulvillio. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pulvillio,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pulvillio.

Source: pulvillio on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.