filo

See also: Filo, filó, filò, filo-, and -filo

Languages (11)

English

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Catalan • Esperanto • Italian • Italiot Greek • Latin • Macanese • Portuguese • Spanish • Tongan • Turkish

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Page categories

English

Noun

filo (countable and uncountable, plural filos)

1. Alternative spelling of phyllo.

Further reading

• filo on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• FOIL, LIFO, foil, lo-fi, lofi

Catalan

Verb

filo

1. first-person singular present indicative of filar

Esperanto

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁ilyós

Proto-Italic *θīlios

Proto-Italic *fīlios

Latin fīliusbor.

Esperanto filo

Borrowed from Latin fīlius.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfilo/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Audio 3:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ilo
• Syllabification: fi‧lo

Noun

filo (accusative singular filon, plural filoj, accusative plural filojn)

1. son
   • 2012, Plato, translated by Donald Broadribb, La Respubliko (Traduko al Esperanto) [The Republic (Translation into Esperanto)], 2nd corrected edition (paperback), New York: Mondial, →ISBN, page 17:

     Polemarĥo, la filo de Kefalo, vidis nin de malproksime dum ni iradis hejmen kaj li ordonis al sia sklavo kuri al ni kaj ordoni ke ni atendu.

     Polemarchus, the son of Cephalus, saw us from afar while we were going home and he ordered his slave to run to us and order us to wait.

     (literally, “Polemarchus, the son of Cephalus, saw us from afar while we went home and he ordered to his slave to run to us and order that we wait.”)

Hypernyms

• gefilo (“offspring”)

Coordinate terms

• filino (“daughter”)

Derived terms

• duonfilo (“stepson”)
• filiĉo
• vicfilo (“stepson”)

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfi.lo/
• Rhymes: -ilo
• Hyphenation: fì‧lo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin fīlum.

Alternative forms

• fil (apocopic)

Noun

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

1. thread (for sewing, etc.)
2. yarn
3. line
4. string (cord)
5. cable, wire, flex
6. blade (of grass, etc.)
7. grain (of wood)
8. (idiomatic, also in the plural) threads, strands
9. trickle (of water)

   filo d'acqua

   water trickle

10. breath (of air)
11. wisp (of smoke)
12. edge (of blade)
13. ray (of light)
14. glimmer (of hope)

Usage notes

• The feminine plural fila is only used in the idiomatic sense threads.

Derived terms

• affilare
• fila
• filare
• filo a piombo
• filo di speranza
• filo di voce
• infilare
• per filo e per segno

Related terms

• filare

Further reading

• “filo¹”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Etymology 2

From Latin phylum, from Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon).

Noun

filo m (plural fili)

1. (taxonomy) phylum (a rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class)

Further reading

• “filo²”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

filo

1. first-person singular present indicative of filare

Anagrams

• lofi

Italiot Greek

Noun

filo m

1. friend

Latin

Etymology

From fīlum (“thread”, noun) +‎ -ō (verb-forming suffix). Documented from the fourth c. CE.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfiː.ɫoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfiː.lo]

Noun

fīlō

1. dative/ablative singular of fīlum

Verb

fīlō (present infinitive fīlāre, perfect active fīlāvī, supine fīlātum); first conjugation (Late Latin)

1. to weave

   Synonym: neō

Conjugation

   Conjugation of fīlō (first conjugation)

indicative	singular	plural
first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	fīlō	fīlās	fīlat	fīlāmus	fīlātis	fīlant
imperfect	fīlābam	fīlābās	fīlābat	fīlābāmus	fīlābātis	fīlābant
future	fīlābō	fīlābis	fīlābit	fīlābimus	fīlābitis	fīlābunt
perfect	fīlāvī	fīlāvistī	fīlāvit	fīlāvimus	fīlāvistis	fīlāvērunt, fīlāvēre
pluperfect	fīlāveram	fīlāverās	fīlāverat	fīlāverāmus	fīlāverātis	fīlāverant
future perfect	fīlāverō	fīlāveris	fīlāverit	fīlāverimus	fīlāveritis	fīlāverint
passive	present	fīlor	fīlāris, fīlāre	fīlātur	fīlāmur	fīlāminī	fīlantur
imperfect	fīlābar	fīlābāris, fīlābāre	fīlābātur	fīlābāmur	fīlābāminī	fīlābantur
future	fīlābor	fīlāberis, fīlābere	fīlābitur	fīlābimur	fīlābiminī	fīlābuntur
perfect	fīlātus + present active indicative of sum
pluperfect	fīlātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
future perfect	fīlātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive	singular	plural
first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	fīlem	fīlēs	fīlet	fīlēmus	fīlētis	fīlent
imperfect	fīlārem	fīlārēs	fīlāret	fīlārēmus	fīlārētis	fīlārent
perfect	fīlāverim	fīlāverīs	fīlāverit	fīlāverīmus	fīlāverītis	fīlāverint
pluperfect	fīlāvissem	fīlāvissēs	fīlāvisset	fīlāvissēmus	fīlāvissētis	fīlāvissent
passive	present	fīler	fīlēris, fīlēre	fīlētur	fīlēmur	fīlēminī	fīlentur
imperfect	fīlārer	fīlārēris, fīlārēre	fīlārētur	fīlārēmur	fīlārēminī	fīlārentur
perfect	fīlātus + present active subjunctive of sum
pluperfect	fīlātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative	singular	plural
first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	fīlā	—	—	fīlāte	—
future	—	fīlātō	fīlātō	—	fīlātōte	fīlantō
passive	present	—	fīlāre	—	—	fīlāminī	—
future	—	fīlātor	fīlātor	—	—	fīlantor
non-finite forms	infinitive	participle
active	passive	active	passive
present	fīlāre	fīlārī	fīlāns	—
future	fīlātūrum esse	fīlātum īrī	fīlātūrus	fīlandus
perfect	fīlāvisse	fīlātum esse	—	fīlātus
future perfect	—	fīlātum fore	—	—
perfect potential	fīlātūrum fuisse	—	—	—
verbal nouns	gerund	supine
genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
fīlandī	fīlandō	fīlandum	fīlandō	fīlātum	fīlātū

Descendants

• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian: filare
• Italo-Dalmatian:
  • Corsican: filà
  • Dalmatian: filuor
  • Istriot: filà
  • Italian: filare
  • Neapolitan: filà
  • Sicilian: filari
• Gallo-Italic:
  • Emilian: filèr
• Northern Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: felar
  • French: filer
• Southern Gallo-Romance:
  • Catalan: filar
  • Occitan: filar
    • Gascon: hilar
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: filar
  • Asturian: filar
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: fiar
    • Galician: fiar
    • Portuguese: fiar
  • Old Spanish: filar
    • Ladino: filar
    • Spanish: hilar

Macanese

Etymology

Inherited from Portuguese filho.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfi.lu/
• Hyphenation: fi‧lo

Noun

filo (plural filo-filo, female fila)

1. boy
2. son

   filo-di-quim ― whose son

3. child

   filo-grándi ― oldest child

   filo trás di porta ― illegitimate child

Particle

filo-filo

1. diminutive marker

   chuva filo-filo ― a drizzle (literally, “rain children”)

References

• “filo”, in “Lexicon”, in Macanese Heritage, 2024–2026

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfi.lu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfi.lu/

• Rhymes: -ilu
• Hyphenation: fi‧lo
• Homophones: fi-lo, (Madeira) filho

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyéti

Ancient Greek φύω (phúō)

Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon)lbor.

New Latin phylumlbor.

Portuguese filo

Learned borrowing from New Latin phylum.

Noun

filo m (plural filos)

1. (taxonomy) phylum (rank below kingdom and above class)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

filo

1. first-person singular present indicative of filar

Further reading

• “filo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “filo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfilo/ [ˈfi.lo]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ilo
• Syllabification: fi‧lo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish filo, inherited from Latin fīlum. Doublet of hilo. Both were inherited, and it is not entirely clear why the two diverged in pronunciation, with filo coming to mean 'edge' and hilo maintaining the Latin sense of 'string, thread'. Perhaps the /f~h/ variation was exploited to create two words with more specialized senses. Cognate with English file.

Noun

filo m (plural filos)

1. edge, cutting edge (of the blade of an instrument)
2. edge (sharp terminating border)
3. (colloquial, dated, Colombia, El Salvador) hunger
4. (Cuba) fold

Derived terms

• afilar
• al filo de
• arma de dos filos
• contrafilo
• de doble filo
• espada de dos filos
• filar
• filoso

Interjection

filo

1. (Chile, colloquial) whatever, I don't care

Related terms

• desfilar
• fila
• filamento
• filiera
• hilar
• hilo

Etymology 2

Borrowed from New Latin phylum, from Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “race”).

Noun

filo m (plural filos)

1. (biology, taxonomy) phylum

Derived terms

• subfilo
• superfilo

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

filo

1. first-person singular present indicative of filar

Further reading

• Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1984), “hilo”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎^[1] (in Spanish), volume III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 361
• “filo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *filo, from *firo (“to mix, mingle”), from Proto-Oceanic *piro (“to twist together”).

Noun

filo

1. cotton

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish فیلو (filo, “line of battle”), from Venetan filo (“line”), from Latin filum.

Noun

filo (definite accusative filoyu, plural filolar)

1. (military, nautical) fleet; squadron, line of battle

Declension

Declension of filo

singular plural nominative filo filolar definite accusative filoyu filoları dative filoya filolara locative filoda filolarda ablative filodan filolardan genitive filonun filoların Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular filom filolarım 2nd singular filon filoların 3rd singular filosu filoları 1st plural filomuz filolarımız 2nd plural filonuz filolarınız 3rd plural filoları filoları definite accusative singular plural 1st singular filomu filolarımı 2nd singular filonu filolarını 3rd singular filosunu filolarını 1st plural filomuzu filolarımızı 2nd plural filonuzu filolarınızı 3rd plural filolarını filolarını dative singular plural 1st singular filoma filolarıma 2nd singular filona filolarına 3rd singular filosuna filolarına 1st plural filomuza filolarımıza 2nd plural filonuza filolarınıza 3rd plural filolarına filolarına locative singular plural 1st singular filomda filolarımda 2nd singular filonda filolarında 3rd singular filosunda filolarında 1st plural filomuzda filolarımızda 2nd plural filonuzda filolarınızda 3rd plural filolarında filolarında ablative singular plural 1st singular filomdan filolarımdan 2nd singular filondan filolarından 3rd singular filosundan filolarından 1st plural filomuzdan filolarımızdan 2nd plural filonuzdan filolarınızdan 3rd plural filolarından filolarından genitive singular plural 1st singular filomun filolarımın 2nd singular filonun filolarının 3rd singular filosunun filolarının 1st plural filomuzun filolarımızın 2nd plural filonuzun filolarınızın 3rd plural filolarının filolarının

References

• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007), “filo”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 2, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 1593
• Kahane, Henry R.; Kahane, Renée; Tietze, Andreas (1958), The Lingua Franca in the Levant: Turkish Nautical Terms of Italian and Greek Origin, Urbana: University of Illinois, § 286
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “filo”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Avery, Robert et al., editors (2013), The Redhouse Dictionary Turkish/Ottoman English, 21st edition, Istanbul: Sev Yayıncılık, →ISBN