file English · revision 3427

+ English has two main words spelled ''file'': the smoothing tool, a native word, and the set of papers or row of people, from Latin filum “thread” by way of French.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /faɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|tool}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 800|origins=gem-pro *finhlō}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The tool is [[inh|enm|file]], also vile,^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|fēol]], Mercian fīl,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*finhlō]],^(Barnhart 1988) probably from [[ine-pro|*peig-|t=to cut, mark by incision]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Church Slavonic pila “file, saw” and Lithuanian piela “file”.^(Etymonline) It is cognate with Dutch vijl, German Feile and Old Norse þél.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The verb is Old English fīlian.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A metal instrument for smoothing or shaping: before 800.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) It is the oldest of the English words spelled ''file''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Figurative use, especially of the polish given by a file, is from before 1225.^(OED 1989) The verb, “to rub or smooth with a file”, is probably from before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988) In 19th-century slang a ''file'' was an artful, shrewd person, from 1812.^(OED 1989) ''Nail file'' is by 1819,^(Etymonline) and ''filings'' is from before 1398.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 800 – a file.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1200 – verb, to smooth with a file.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1398 – ''filings''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1812 – slang, a shrewd person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1819 – ''nail file''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hand tool with a ridged surface for smoothing, shaping or cutting hard materials such as metal or wood.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[nail file]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To smooth, shape or cut with a file.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[filings]]

+ * [[nail file]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|papers; row}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1473|origins=la fīlum}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The papers and the row are [[bor|frm|filer|t=to string documents on a wire; to spin thread]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and [[m|frm|fil|t=thread, string]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|fīlum|t=thread]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) from [[ine-pro|*gʷhi-|t=thread, tendon]].^(Etymonline) The noun for a row of people is a separate, later borrowing of [[m|frm|file|t=row]], from filer in the sense “to march in file”, from Late Latin fīlāre “to spin, draw out in a line”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Latin fīlum is also behind [[filament]], [[filigree]] and [[fillet]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb, to put documents on record: 1473 in Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The noun, a string or wire on which documents were hung, is from 1525.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The notion is of documents hung on a line in order for easy reference;^(Etymonline) methods have changed, but the word has stuck, which is why things were long said to be ''on file''.^(Etymonline) To place among the records of a court is from the 1510s.^(Etymonline) A collection of papers arranged for reference is from 1566 in Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and the 1620s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) A line of people or soldiers one behind another, at first military, is from 1598,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and a line of squares on a chessboard from the 1610s.^(Etymonline) The computer sense is from 1954, as is the sense of a reporter filing copy.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1473 – verb, to put on record.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1525 – a wire for documents.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1566 – a collection of papers.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1598 – a line of people; verb, to march in a line.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1610s – a line of chess squares.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1954 – a computer file; to file a story.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A folder, box or cabinet for keeping papers in order.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A collection of papers or records kept together.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(computing)'' A collection of related [[data]] stored under one name.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A line of people or things one behind another: ''single file''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(chess)'' A vertical row of squares on a chessboard.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put papers in order for storage or reference.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To submit officially, as an application or a lawsuit: ''to file for divorce''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To send a story to a newspaper.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To march or walk in a line.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[filing cabinet]]

+ * [[rank and file]]

+ * [[single file]]

+ * [[defile]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[filament]]

+ * [[filigree]]

+ * [[fillet]]

+ * [[profile]]

+ * [[foul]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Merriam-Webster also has an obsolete ''file'' “to defile”, from Old English fȳlan, from fūl “foul”.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}