pilon

American  

[pee-lohn] / piˈloʊn /

noun

Southwestern U.S. (chiefly Texas).

1. something extra; lagniappe.

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Usage

What does pilon mean? Pilon is an informal regional term that means a little something extra—a bonus. It’s primarily used in Texas and some parts of the Southwestern U. S. Pilon typically refers to something additional given to a customer for free when they’re making a purchase. This is often done as a nice gesture on the part of the seller, kind of like when you get 13 items for the prize of 12 in a “baker’s dozen.”The regional term lagniappe is used to mean about the same thing in Southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas. Example: The fruit vendor at the farmer’s market said he’d throw in a carton of strawberries as a pilon since I’m such a loyal customer.

Etymology

Origin of pilon

1880–85; < Mexican Spanish pilón literally, trough, mortar, Spanish: derivative of pila basin, trough < Latin pīla mortar

Example Sentences

Then she adds the coffee she has dried, winnowed, roasted and pounded into powder with a large mortar called a pilon, the way she was taught as a child.

From New York Times • May 20, 2022

He suffered a pilon fracture, and the two lower leg bones were crumpled together.

From Washington Times • Apr. 12, 2017

A large Silver Fox in the Jewish section of Oakwoods Cemetary on 63rd St. Best of all--a Great Snowy Owl that perched on a pilon of that same Ogden Slip for a full day.

From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2016

A gray stoneware pilon coffeepot grunted on the back of the stove.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Let the patient take one scruple and a half of pilon in water before going to bed; make a fumigation for the womb of mastic, frankincense and burnt frogs, adding the hoof of a mule.

From The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher Containing his Complete Masterpiece and Family Physician; his Experienced Midwife, his Book of Problems and his Remarks on Physiognomy by Aristotle