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file²

(fīl)

1. Any of several hardened steel tools with cutting ridges for forming, smoothing, or reducing especially metallic surfaces.

2. A nail file.

3. Chiefly British A crafty or artful person.

tr.v. filed, fil·ing, files

To smooth, reduce, or remove with or as if with a file.

[Middle English, from Old English fīl; see peig- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

(click for a larger image)

file2

left to right: double-cut flat file, single-cut round file, and single-cut half-round file

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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