fil French · revision 16588

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1160, Roman d'Eneas|origins=la fīlum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fil/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fil''' ''m'' (plural fils)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|fīlum|t=thread, filament; edge of a blade; thread of a speech]], of unknown origin.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(FEW|3, 526b)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|fir]], [[it|filo]], [[oc|fil]], [[es|hilo]] and [[pt|fio]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Roman d'Eneas'' (about 1160) uses it for a thin strand, in ''fil de l'albe'' “daybreak”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Chrétien de Troyes has ''li filz d'or'' “gold threads” (about 1170) and thread for sewing, ''fil e aguille'' (1176–81); ''de fil en aiguille'' “one thing leading to another” is in Jean de Meun's ''Roman de la Rose'' (1269–78), and ''cousu de fil blanc'' “transparent, obvious” from 1594.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) A thread that holds things gave ''ne tenir qu'à un fil'' and ''fil à plomb'' (1824).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ Figurative senses are old: a sequence or chain (''le fil des idées'', about 1195), the direction of a current (''au fil de l'eve'', about 1200), and the edge of a blade (Amyot, 1559), as in ''passer au fil de l'épée''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The ''fil d'Ariane'' (1748) is a guiding thread.^(DHLF 1992) With the telegraph (1856) and telephone, ''fil'' named the wire, whence ''coup de fil'' “phone call”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1160 – ''Fil de l'albe'', ''Roman d'Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1176–81 – Sewing thread, Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1195 – A chain (of events).^(TLFi)

+ * 1269–78 – ''De fil en aguille'', Jean de Meun.^(TLFi)

+ * 1559 – The edge of a blade, Amyot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1748 – ''Fil d'Ariane''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1856 – ''Fil télégraphique''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|thread]], yarn: ''fil de coton'', ''une bobine de fil'', ''de fil en aiguille''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A wire: ''fil de fer'', ''fil électrique'', ''sans fil'', wireless, ''coup de fil'', phone call.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # The thread (of a story, of events): ''perdre le fil'', ''au fil des jours'', ''fil conducteur''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The current, flow: ''au fil de l'eau''.^(TLFi)

+ # The [[m|en|grain]] (of wood, fabric).^(Wiktionary)

+ # The [[m|en|edge]] (of a blade): ''passer au fil de l'épée''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[filet]]

+ * [[filière]]

+ * [[filin]]

+ * [[filasse]]

+ * [[affiler]]

+ * [[effiler]]

+ * [[enfiler]]

+ * [[défiler]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[filer]]

+ * [[file]]

+ * [[filament]]

+ * [[filiforme]]

+ * [[la|fīlum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}