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Etymology and origin of the Italian word file

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1969
Borrowed from
English file
Ultimate origin
Middle French fil
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English file
Italian file

Pronunciation

Forms

file m (invariable)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English file, recorded in Italian from 1969 (Zingarelli) or 1972 (GRADIT, Devoto–Oli).[2][3][4][1] The English word first meant a filza, the wire or string on which papers were threaded to keep them, and so a dossier or archive.[5][4][6] It comes from Middle French fil (“thread”), and Treccani sees a crossing with file (“row”).[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word appears around 1970 in computing, for a set of related data, commands or information stored under one name in a computer's memory.[3][2] The GDLI quotes Le Scienze of August 1974 on “the protection and saving of files”, with the English plural.[8]

Semantic evolution

The plural is either invariable or the English files.[4][9][8] Devoto–Oli and Nocentini also record a bureaucratic sense, a folder holding the papers of a case.[4][5] Compounds such as file server and file system came with the technology, and file sharing with computer networks.[3][6]

Timeline

  • 1969 – Zingarelli's date for file.[2]
  • 1972 – GRADIT's and Devoto–Oli's date.[3][4]
  • 1974 – Le Scienze writes of saving files.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (computing) A file: a set of data stored under a name in a computer's memory or on a disk: Ho salvato la lettera in un file nuovo.[3][4][2][1]
  2. (bureaucracy) A folder holding the papers of a case.[4][5]

Usage notes

The same spelling is the plural of fila “row, line”.[1][10] A rare learned feminine file, stressed on the first syllable, names each of the tribes of ancient Greece; it comes from Ancient Greek φυλή (phulḗ, “tribe”) and is recorded before 1748 in Pietro Giannone.[3][4][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  7. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  8. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 703

Related etymologies

  • ok · also from English
  • dollaro · also from English
  • film · also from English
  • camera · also from English
  • detective · also from English
  • video · also from English
  • club · also from English
  • sexy · also from English
Cite this entry

“File.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/file. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·