Where does “file” come from?

file (English) comes from French filé, from French filer, from Latin fīlāre, from Latin fīlum, from Proto-Italic fī(s)lom, from Proto-Indo-European gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-.

file (English): A spicy herb made from the dried and ground...

Definitions

  1. A spicy herb made from the dried and ground...

Ancestry of “file”, step by step

file traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via French filé

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchfilépast participle of filer; simple or twisted...
2Frenchfilerto spin; to thread through; to spin a thread
3Latinfīlāre
4Latinfīlumthread, string, filament, fiber
5Proto-Italicfī(s)lom
6Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷʰiH-(s-)lo-

via Old French fil

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchfilson; thread
2Latinfīliusa son
3Old Latinfīlios
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁y-li-ossucker
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁(y)-to suckle, nurse

via Middle English file

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfile
2Old Englishfēl
3Old Englishfīil
4Proto-Germanicfinhlōrasp; file
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpeyḱ-to hew, cut out; to stitch, embroider, sting; to...

Words derived from “file

Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-