filo Italian · revision 39085

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1274, Brunetto Latini|origins=ine-pro *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfi.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''filo''' ''m'' (plural fili m or (collectively or in fixed expressions) fila f, diminutive filìno or filétto)^(Wiktionary)

+ The plural is ''fili'';^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''fila'' (feminine) is used with a collective sense and in fixed phrases, continuing the Latin neuter plural [[m|la|fīla]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010) Before a word it is often shortened to ''fil'' (''fil di ferro'').^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003) Old Italian forms include [[m|roa-oit|filu]], [[m|roa-oit|fillo]] and [[m|roa-oit|firo]].^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|fīlum|t=thread, line]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|1643) It is pan-Romance: [[fr|fil]], [[oc|fil]], [[ca|fil]], [[es|hilo]], [[pt|fio]], [[sc|filu]] and [[ro|fir]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) DEI notes that many of the secondary senses of the Italian word already existed in spoken Latin.^(DEI|1643)

+

+ Latin [[m|la|fīlum]] continues [[itc-pro|*fī(s)lo-]], from [[ine-pro|*gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-|t=sinew, sinew thread]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Its relatives are words for sinews and veins: [[lt|gýsla]], [[sla-pro|*žìla]], [[xcl|ջիլ|tr=ǰil]] and [[cy|gïau]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) Latin also had a variant [[m|la|hīlum]], continued in the learned [[ilo]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in Brunetto Latini's ''Tesoretto'' (before 1274), and DELI dates the textile sense, thread spun for weaving and sewing, to Bono Giamboni (before 1292).^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999) In the GDLI's quotation from Giamboni, a fine thread is tied to the end of an arrow.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the word for anything long and thin like thread, such as metal wire (Dante has ''filo di ferro'' before 1321), for the thread on which a scale's pans hang, and figuratively for the fragility of a condition, life hanging by a thread.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO) The ''filo'' of a narrative or of a river's course, its continuity and direction, is recorded at the beginning of the 14th century, and the end of a skein, the clue, before 1367.^(DELI 1999) The cutting edge of a blade is in Ariosto (1516), and the sense “a tiny amount” (''un filo di speranza'') before 1699.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Nocentini notes how many metaphors the word and its verb [[filare]] developed: the ''filo della schiena'' “spine”, the ''filo del rasoio'', the ''filo del discorso'';^(Nocentini 2010) ''filare'' came to mean “to run smoothly”, “to go fast” and, from ''filare il perfetto amore'', “to court”.^(Nocentini 2010) The ''filo d'Arianna'' recalls the thread Ariadne gave Theseus to find his way out of the Labyrinth.^(DELI 1999) The puppet's string appears in Carducci in 1862.^(DELI 1999) In fencing, a ''filo'' is a thrust along the opponent's blade (1513), a term German borrowed.^(DIFIT) With electricity and the telephone the word came to mean an electric wire or line.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1274 – Brunetto Latini uses ''filo'' in the ''Tesoretto''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for spun thread.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante writes ''filo di ferro'', iron wire.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Early 14th century – A translation of Cicero uses it for continuity, direction.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1513 – The fencing term ''filo'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1516 – Ariosto uses it for the edge of a blade.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1862 – Carducci uses it for a puppet's string.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1956 – ''Filo'' is recorded as an Italian form of ''phylum''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|thread]], yarn: a long, thin strand spun from textile fibres, used for sewing, weaving and embroidery: ''un rocchetto di filo bianco''; a piece of such thread: ''Hai un filo sulla manica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|string]], cord.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|wire]] of metal or plastic; an electric wire or cable: ''il filo del caricabatterie''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Anything thin and long like a thread: a blade of grass, a strand of cheese or of a spider's web, a trickle of liquid: ''un sottile filo di bava''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A string of pearls or beads.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The [[m|en|edge]] of a blade: ''il filo del coltello''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A tiny amount: ''un filo di voce'', ''un filo di speranza''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' The thread, continuity of a speech or story: ''Ho perso il filo del discorso.''^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[filare]]

+ * [[fila]]

+ * [[affilare]]

+ * [[infilare]]

+ * [[sfilare]]

+ * [[filato]]

+ * [[filatura]]

+ * [[filatoio]]

+ * [[filanda]]

+ * [[filamento]]

+ * [[filaccia]]

+ * [[filetto]]

+ * [[filone]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ilo]]

+ * [[la|filum]]

+ * [[fr|fil]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed phrases include ''per filo e per segno'' “in every detail”, ''essere appeso a un filo'' “to hang by a thread”, ''dare filo da torcere'' “to give a hard time”, and ''fare il filo a qualcuno'' “to court someone”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010) A separate, uncommon ''filo'' is the biological [[phylum]], from [[la-new|phylum]] and [[grc|φῦλον|tr=phûlon]], recorded from 1956.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}