file
- file
\ \ The file for smoothing and rubbing [OE] and the file for storing things in [16] are quite different words. The former comes from a prehistoric Germanic *fikhalā (source also of German feile and Dutch vijl), which goes back ultimately to Indo-European *pik-, *peik-, denoting ‘cut’. The latter, on the other hand, comes from Old French fil, a descendant of Latin filum ‘thread’, which was applied to a piece of string or wire suspended from two points and used for hanging documents and records on for easy reference. As methods of document storage and retrieval became more sophisticated, the word file followed them. The later file ‘(military) column’, first recorded at the end of the 16th century, probably represents a reborrowing from French, but it is ultimately the same word. Fillet [14] originated as a diminutive form of Latin filum.
\ \ Cf.⇒ FILIGREE, FILLET
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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Look at other dictionaries:
file — file … Dictionnaire des rimes
filé — filé … Dictionnaire des rimes
file — [ fil ] n. f. • av. 1464; de filer 1 ♦ Suite (de personnes, de choses) dont les éléments sont placés un par un et l un derrière l autre (à la différence du rang). File de gens. ⇒ colonne, procession. « Barca vit avancer un des miliciens, puis une … Encyclopédie Universelle
filé — file [ fil ] n. f. • av. 1464; de filer 1 ♦ Suite (de personnes, de choses) dont les éléments sont placés un par un et l un derrière l autre (à la différence du rang). File de gens. ⇒ colonne, procession. « Barca vit avancer un des miliciens,… … Encyclopédie Universelle
File — Aktuelle Version: 5.01 (30. April 2009) Betriebssystem: Multiplattform Kategorie: Remote Access Lizenz: GPL … Deutsch Wikipedia
file — Aktuelle Version 5.09 (16. September 2011) Betriebssystem Multiplattform Kategorie Remote Access Lizenz BSD Lizenz Deutschsprachig nein … Deutsch Wikipedia
file — 1 vb filed, fil·ing vt 1 a: to submit (a legal document) to the proper office (as the office of a clerk of court) for keeping on file among the records esp. as a procedural step in a legal transaction or proceeding filed a tax return a financing… … Law dictionary
File — (f[imac]l), n. [F. file row (cf. Pr., Sp., Pg., & It. fila), LL. fila, fr. L. filum a thread. Cf. {Enfilade}, {Filament}, {Fillet}.] 1. An orderly succession; a line; a row; as: (a) (Mil.) A row of soldiers ranged one behind another; in… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
File — (f[imac]l), n. [AS. fe[ o]l; akin to D. viji, OHG. f[=i]la, f[=i]hala, G. feile, Sw. fil, Dan. fiil, cf. Icel. [thorn][=e]l, Russ. pila, and Skr. pi[,c] to cut out, adorn; perh. akin to E. paint.] 1. A steel instrument, having cutting ridges or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
File 13 — is a euphemism for the trash can. The phrase is especially used in the U.S. military, and is less common outside of the United States. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the expression round file or circular file is more common (in reference to … Wikipedia
File — has several meanings:* Filing cabinet * File (tool) * A nail file * Filing (legal) * Filing (manufacturing process) * File (formation) Military term for a single column of men one in front of the other. See also Rank (formation) * File (chess) *… … Wikipedia
