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défiler

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Etymology and origin of the French word défiler

défiler1 unthread

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1268 Étienne Boileau, Livre des métiers
Ultimate origin
Latin fīlum
Etymology tree of défiler1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin fīlum
French fil
French défiler
Italian filo
Romanian fir
Spanish filo
Spanish hilo
Derivations · défiler1
From the same root · défiler1
French filet ← fīlum
Latin fīlāmentum ← fīlum
Latin fīlō ← fīlum
Romanian înfira ← fīlum
French enfiler ← fil
Italian fila ← filo
Spanish hilar ← hilo

Pronunciation

Forms

défiler[1] Old and Middle French desfiler, deffiler.[2][3]

Etymology

The word for “to unthread” is formed from French dé- + fil with a verb ending.[4][5][6][3][7] Cognate with Old Occitan desfilar, Old Spanish desfilar, Spanish deshilar and Portuguese desfiar.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Étienne Boileau's Livre des métiers (about 1268) soye deffilée is silk that has not been spun or twisted.[3][6] The DHLF dates soie défilée to 1299.[8]

Semantic evolution

By 1408 the verb meant “to take off what is threaded”, like désenfiler.[8] In 16th-century falconry it was used of a bird getting free of a net.[3][6] The military sense, “to place troops or a work so that enemy fire cannot rake it”, dates from 1829, and the familiar pronominal se défiler “to slip away, back out” (1860) comes from it.[8][5][6]

Timeline

  • c. 1268 – Soye deffilée appears in the Livre des métiers.[3][6]
  • 1408 – First record of the sense “to unthread”.[8]
  • c. 1540 – Yver uses se defiler of a bird escaping a net.[6][3]
  • 1784 – First record of défilage.[8]
  • 1829 – Boiste records the military sense.[6][8]
  • 1860 – Se défiler “to back out” appears.[8][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To take off the thread holding things together, to unthread: défiler des perles.[5][3]
  2. (technical) To undo a fabric thread by thread; to shred rags for papermaking.[5][9]
  3. (military) To place troops or a work out of sight and out of reach of enemy fire.[5][6]
  4. (pronominal, familiar) Se défiler: to slip away or back out at the critical moment.[5][10]

Word family

défiler2 march past

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1648
Ultimate origin
Latin fīlum
Etymology tree of défiler2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin fīlum
French fil
Italian filo
Romanian fir
Spanish filo
Spanish hilo
Latin fīlō
French filer
French file
Spanish fila
French défiler
Italian filare
Spanish hilar
Derivations · défiler2
From the same root · défiler2
French filet ← fīlum
Latin fīlāmentum ← fīlum
Romanian înfira ← fīlum
French enfiler ← fil
Italian fila ← filo

Pronunciation

Forms

défiler[1]

Etymology

The word for “to march in file” is formed from French dé- + file.[4][3][8][7] The Petit Robert gives its base as filer, the verb from which file is derived.[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is first recorded in 1648, meaning “to march in file”.[8][4]

Semantic evolution

The noun défilé followed for a narrow pass where one can only go in file (1643) and for the movement of troops marching past (1669).[8] Littré records ships that sail in file past an enemy line, troops marching by platoons at a review, and the vulgar défiler la parade “to die”.[3] By extension the verb has meant “to follow one another without a break” (1932), and today it also says that a tape or a text on a screen runs past continuously.[8][5]

Timeline

  • 1643 – défilé names a narrow pass.[8]
  • 1648 – First record of the verb.[8][4]
  • 1669 – Défilé is used for troops marching past.[8]
  • 1832 – Défilement is recorded for a march past of troops.[8]
  • 1932 – First record of the sense “to follow one another without interruption”.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) To march in file or in column, especially past a commander or in a parade.[5][10]
  2. (intransitive) To pass one after another in a demonstration or show; models and demonstrators défilent.[5][10]
  3. (intransitive) To follow one another without a break.[5][10]
  4. (intransitive) To pass continuously, as a tape or a text on a screen;[5][10][1] (computing) faire défiler, to scroll.[5][10][1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 528a
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  10. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Défiler.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9filer. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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