# brillo pad

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A scouring pad used for cleaning dishes, made from steel wool containing soap.
2. The hair on the scalp of a black person.
3. A black person.

## Etymology
From a trademark, probably related to brilliant. The company has claimed that the name derives from a Latin word for bright, but there is no such fitting word in attested Latin; the ancestor of such verbs as Italian brillare (“to shine”) would be a hypothetical Vulgar Latin *b(e)rillāre.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/brillo-pad