fil

fil

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Filipino.

Of North Germanic origin, from Swedish fil. Also related to Finnish viili.

fil (uncountable)

1. A Nordic dairy product, similar to yogurt, but using different bacteria which give a different taste and texture.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

fil (plural fils)

1. (chess) Alternative form of alfil.

• LIF, lif

• IPA^(key): /ˈfil/
• Rhymes: -il

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish فیل (fil).

fil f (plural fila or (archaic) file)

1. elephant

   Synonym: elefant

2. (chess) bishop

   Synonym: oficer

Chess pieces in Albanian · figurat e shahut (layout · text)
mbret	mbretëreshë	kullë	fil	kalë	ushtar

• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[2], 1980, page 470a
• Bufli, G., Rocchi, L. (2021) “fil”, in A historical-etymological dictionary of Turkisms in Albanian (1555–1954), Trieste: Edizioni Università di Trieste, page 159
• Mann, S. E. (1948) “fil”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 107a
• Meyer, G. (1891) “fiľ”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the Albanian Language] (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, →DOI, page 104f.
• Jungg, G. (1895) “fil”, in Fialuur i voghel sccȣp e ltinisct [Small Albanian–Italian dictionary], page 30

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

fil m (plural filë) (nautical)

1. gunwale

• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[3], 1980, page 470a

Borrowed from Arabic فِيل (fīl).

• IPA^(key): /fil/

• Audio:

  (file)

fil (definite accusative fili, plural fillər)

1. elephant
2. (chess) bishop

• → Georgian: ფილ (pil) — Ingilo

Chess pieces in Azerbaijani · şahmat fiqurları (layout · text)
şah	vəzir	top	fil	at	piyada

Inherited from Latin fīlum.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈfil]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -il

fil m (plural fils)

1. thread, wire
2. (Internet) discussion thread

   Synonym: tema

• “fil”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “fil”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “fil” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “fil” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Borrowed from Arabic فِيل (fīl).

fil

1. elephant
2. (chess) bishop

• fil balası

• “fil”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

Ultimately from Latin fīlum. Judging by the /i/, presumably borrowed from Venetan or Italian filo.

fil m

1. thread

• filuor

• Bartoli, Matteo (1906) Il Dalmatico: Resti di un’antica lingua romanza parlata da Veglia a Ragusa e sua collocazione nella Romània appenino-balcanica, Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, published 2000, page 180

From Middle Low German vīle, from Old Saxon fila, from Proto-West Germanic *fį̄hlu.

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/, [fiːˀl]
• Rhymes: -iːl

fil c (singular definite filen, plural indefinite file)

1. file (tool)

Borrowed from English file (“an aggregation of data”) (1962).

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/, [fiːˀl]

fil c (singular definite filen, plural indefinite filer)

1. file (computer terminology)

See file.

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/, [fiːˀl]

fil

1. imperative of file

Inherited from Latin fīlum.

fil m (plural fils) (ORB, broad)

1. thread

• felar

• fil in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• fil in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

From Old French fil, from Latin fīlum.

• IPA^(key): /fil/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: file, filent, files, fils, Phil, -phile
• Rhymes: -il

fil m (plural fils)

1. yarn, thread, wire

   ne tenir qu'à un fil

   to hang by a thread

2. grain (of wood etc.)
3. edge (of blade, razor etc.)

• → English: file (“collection of papers”) (see there for further descendants)

• “fil”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfil/^[1]
• Rhymes: -il
• Hyphenation: fìl

fil m (apocopated)

1. apocopic form of filo

Inherited from Classical Persian فِیل (fīl).

• IPA^(key): /fɪl/

fil

1. elephant
2. (figuratively) anything huge and ponderous
3. (chess) bishop

From Arabic فِيل (fīl).

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/

fil m (plural fjiel)

1. (archaic) elephant

   Synonym: ljunfant

fil

1. alternative form of fille

fil

1. alternative form of fillen

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/
• Rhymes: -iːl

fil f or m (definite singular fila or filen, indefinite plural filer, definite plural filene)

1. A file.
2. A hand tool used for removing sharp edges or for cutting, especially through metal.
3. A section of roadway for a single line of vehicles, a lane.

• tekstfil

• “fil” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “fil_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “fil_3” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Borrowed from Swedish, from Old French. In the sense of a "computer file" it is borrowed from English file. Both the English and Swedish origins ultimately derive from Latin filum.

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/

fil f (definite singular fila, indefinite plural filer, definite plural filene)

1. (computing) a file
2. (driving) a lane

Until 1983, this noun was also considered masculine.

• datafil
• køyrefil

From Middle Low German.

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/

fil f (definite singular fila, indefinite plural filer, definite plural filene)

1. a file (a hand tool)

Possibly shortened from Danish pamfilius. However, it might also be a native clipping of pamfil.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/

fil f (definite singular fila, indefinite plural filer, definite plural filene)

1. (card games) knave (esp. of clubs)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

fil

1. imperative of file

• “fil” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• fli

From Latin fīlum.

• IPA^(key): (Limousin) [ˈfjaʷ]^[1]
• IPA^(key): (Auvergnat) [ˈfjɑʷ]
• IPA^(key): (Gascon) [ˈhiu̯]

• Audio (Gascony):

  (file)

• IPA^(key): (East Languedocien) [ˈfiu̯]
• IPA^(key): (West Languedocien) [ˈfil]

• Audio (West Languedoc):

  (file)

fil m (plural fils)

1. thread

• Müller, Daniela. 2011. Developments of the lateral in Occitan dialects and their Romance and cross-linguistic context. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Toulouse.

From Latin fīlium, accusative singular of fīlius. The nominative form fiz, fils (whence modern French fils), derives from the Latin nominative.

• IPA^(key): /fil/, /fiʎ/

fil oblique singular, m (oblique plural fiz or filz, nominative singular fiz or filz, nominative plural fil)

1. son (male child)

• Bourguignon: fi
• Walloon: fi

See filz for descendants from the nominative singular inflection.

From Latin fīlum.

• IPA^(key): /fil/

fil oblique singular, m (oblique plural fis, nominative singular fis, nominative plural fil)

1. thread (fine strand of material)
   • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     A fil d'or ovree et tissue.

     It was made and woven from fine threads of gold

• French: fil

• fail, feil, fel
• fele, file (relative)

Originally ·fil (“you see”) and ·feil (“one sees”). From Proto-Celtic *weleti (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *wél-e-ti (“see”), compare Welsh gweled (“to see”). For the semantic development from "see" to "there is" compare Welsh dyma (“there is”) shortened from Middle Welsh wely di yma? (“do you see?”) or French voici (“here is”) from vois ci (“see here”).^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ɸʲilʲ]

·fil

1. present progressive conjunct of at·tá
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 19^c20

     Má nudub·feil i n‑ellug coirp Críst, adib cland Abrache amal ṡodin, et it sib ata chomarpi Abracham.

     If you pl are in the union of the body of Christ, you are Abraham’s children in that case, and it is you who are Abraham’s heirs.

   • c. 845, St Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 26^b7

     De dliguth trá inna n-il-toimdden sin, is de gaibthi “igitur”; quasi dixisset “Ní fail ní nád taí mo dligeth-sa fair i ndegaid na comroircnech.”

     Of the law then, of those many opinions, it is thereof that he recites “igitur”; as if he had said, “There is nothing which my law does not touch upon after the erroneous ones.

fil

1. third-person singular present progressive relative of at·tá
   • c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 77^a15

     Is dúnn imchumurc fil isin chanóin fris·gair lessóm a n‑imchomarc n-ísiu .i. ne occideris .i. in ⸉n‑í⸊írr-siu .i. non. .i. nís·n‑ulemairbfe ci asid·roilliset.

     It is to the interrogation that is in the canon that this interrogation answers with him, i.e. ne occideris i.e. will you sg slay i.e. non i.e. you will not slay them all although they have deserved it.

   • c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 114^b18

     nád fil nech con·gné fris ón acht Día

     that there is no one to help him but God

In the conjunct form, the logical subject appears in the accusative (or as an infixed object pronoun) in the oldest language. Examples:

• cinin·fil (“although we are not”)
• condib·feil (“so that you pl are”)
• má nudub·feil (“if you pl are”)
• nícon·ḟil nach rainn (“there is no part”)
• nín·fil (“we are not”)

• do·fil

• Irish: bhfuil, níl
• Manx: vel, nel
• Scottish Gaelic: bheil, eil

• phil (alternative spelling)

Apocopic form of filo or fillo. Perhaps influenced by forms akin to Old Occitan fil.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfil/

fil m (plural filos or fillos)

1. apocopic form of filo, son, child
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 14v:

     Entra a pharaon q̃ ẏo engrauiare so coraçõ. de los sieruos del criador. Por poner eſtas mis ſẽnales. ⁊ cuẽtalo delãte tos fiios al fil de tos fijos. Todo lo q̃ fiz en egipto en tus ſẽnales q̃ pus en ellos e ſabredes q̃ ẏo so el ſẽnor.

     “Go to Pharaoh, for I will harden his heart toward the servants of the Creator, that I may perform these My signs. And recount before your children and the child of your children all that I did in Egypt through your signs that I put among them, and you will know that I am the Lord.”

From Old Norse fíll, from Arabic فِيل (fīl), from Middle Persian pyl (pīl), Akkadian 𒄠𒋛 (pīru).

fīl m

1. elephant (Elephantidae)

Inherited from Latin fīlum (“thread”).

• (Central Romagnol): IPA^(key): [ˈfiːl]

fil m (invariable) (Ravenna, Castel Bolognese)

1. thread

• fȉlj

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish فیل (fil) (modern Turkish fil), from Arabic فِيل (fīl), from Middle Persian pyl (pīl), from Akkadian 𒄠𒋛 (pīru). Akin to fìldiš.

• (fȉl): IPA^(key): /fîl/
• (fȋl): IPA^(key): /fîːl/

fȉl or fȋl m anim (Cyrillic spelling фи̏л or фи̑л)

1. (regional) elephant

   Synonym: slȍn

• “fil”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
• Škaljić, Abdulah (1966) Turcizmi u srpskohrvatskom jeziku, Sarajevo: Svjetlost, page 283
• “fil”, in Речник српскохрватскога књижевног језика (in Serbo-Croatian), Друго фототипско издање edition, volume 6, Нови Сад, Загреб: Матица српска, Матица хрватска, 1967–1976, published 1990, page 668

From Middle Low German vīle, from Old Saxon fila, from Proto-West Germanic *fį̄hlu, from Proto-Germanic *finhlō. Cognate with English file and German Feile.

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

fil c

1. a file (a tool)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “French file?”).

Row and lane (a row of vehicles) is one etymology, but as English file suggests computer file has a different etymology. However, the Swedish computer file is sometimes explained as a row of bytes, in attempt to shoehorn this new English loanword into the etymology of the existing word.

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

fil c

1. a row of objects; most commonly used about moving objects
2. a section of roadway for a single line of vehicles, a lane
3. (computing) file

The usual translation for the "File" menu in most graphical user applications is Arkiv, not Fil.

row

• defilera

lane

• filkörning
• filmarkering

computer file

• fildelare
• fildelning
• filformat
• filhanterare
• filkatalog
• filnamn

Related to Icelandic þél (“fermented milk”), from Old Norse þéttr (“dense, tight”).

• IPA^(key): /fiːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

fil c (uncountable)

2. abbreviation of filmjölk

   fil och flingor

   fil and cereal

3. (chiefly in compounds) any of various other soured milk products

• fil in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• fil in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• fil in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• lif

From English field.

fil

1. sportsfield

From Ottoman Turkish فیل (fil), from Arabic فِيل (fīl), from Persian پیل (pil) (and from alternate Ottoman Turkish پیل (pil), directly from Persian پیل (pil)), from Akkadian 𒄠𒋛 (pīru), related to Egyptian ꜣbw (root of English elephant).

• IPA^(key): /fil/, [ˈfiʎ̟̊]

• Audio:

  (file)

fil (definite accusative fili, plural filler)

1. elephant
2. (chess) bishop

Chess pieces in Turkish · satranç taşları (see also: satranç) (layout · text)
şah	vezir	kale	fil	at	piyon

• “fil”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu

Inherited from Chagatai فیل (fīl /⁠fīl⁠/), from Classical Persian فیل (fīl), from Arabic فِيلٌ m (fīlun), Middle Persian 𐭯𐭩𐭫 (pyl /⁠pīl⁠/), from Akkadian 𒄠𒋛 (/⁠pīru⁠/).

• IPA^(key): /fil/, [fil]
• Hyphenation: fil

fil (plural fillar)

1. elephant
2. (chess) bishop

fil (nominative plural fils)

1. fire

• IPA^(key): /viːl/

fil

1. soft mutation of mil

From Persian فیل (fil).

fil m

1. elephant^[1]