Etymologically
Log in

file

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:41. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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