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File - 22 dictionary results
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file
1
[fahyl] 
noun, verb, filed, fil⋅ing.–noun
| 1. | a folder, cabinet, or other container in which papers, letters, etc., are arranged in convenient order for storage or reference. |
| 2. | a collection of papers, records, etc., arranged in convenient order: to make a file for a new account. |
| 3. | Computers. a collection of related data or program records stored on some input/output or auxiliary storage medium: This program's main purpose is to update the customer master file. |
| 4. | a line of persons or things arranged one behind another (distinguished from rank ). |
| 5. | Military.
|
| 6. | one of the vertical lines of squares on a chessboard. |
| 7. | a list or roll. |
| 8. | a string or wire on which papers are strung for preservation and reference. |
–verb (used with object)
| 9. | to place in a file. |
| 10. | to arrange (papers, records, etc.) in convenient order for storage or reference. |
| 11. | Journalism.
|
–verb (used without object)
—Idiom| 12. | to march in a file or line, one after another, as soldiers: The parade filed past endlessly. |
| 13. | to make application: to file for a civil-service job. |
| 14. | on file, arranged in order for convenient reference; in a file: The names are on file in the office. |
Origin:
1425–75; late ME filen < MF filer to string documents on a thread or wire, OF: to wind or spin thread < LL fīlāre, v. deriv. of L fīlum thread, string
1425–75; late ME filen < MF filer to string documents on a thread or wire, OF: to wind or spin thread < LL fīlāre, v. deriv. of L fīlum thread, string
Related forms:
file⋅a⋅ble, adjective
filer, noun
Synonyms:
10. classify, label, catalog, index, list, categorize.
10. classify, label, catalog, index, list, categorize.
file
2 [fahyl] noun, verb, filed, fil⋅ing.–noun
| 1. | a long, narrow tool of steel or other metal having a series of ridges or points on its surfaces for reducing or smoothing surfaces of metal, wood, etc. |
| 2. | a small, similar tool for trimming and cleaning fingernails; nail file. |
| 3. | British Slang. a cunning, shrewd, or artful person. |
–verb (used with object)
| 4. | to reduce, smooth, or remove with or as if with a file. |
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE fīl, fēol; c. G Feile; akin to Gk pikrós sharp
bef. 900; ME; OE fīl, fēol; c. G Feile; akin to Gk pikrós sharp
Related forms:
file⋅a⋅ble, adjective
filer, noun
file
3 [fahyl] –verb (used with object), filed, fil⋅ing. Archaic.
| to defile; corrupt. |
fi⋅lé
[fi-ley, fee-ley] –noun New Orleans Cookery.
| a powder made from the ground leaves of the sassafras tree, used as a thickener and to impart a pungent taste to soups, gumbos, and other dishes. |
Also called filé powder.
Origin:
1800–10, Americanism; < LaF; lit., twisted, ropy, stringy (perh. orig. applied to dishes thickened with the powder), ptp. of F filer; see file 1
1800–10, Americanism; < LaF; lit., twisted, ropy, stringy (perh. orig. applied to dishes thickened with the powder), ptp. of F filer; see file 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To File
| file 1 (fīl) n.
v. tr.
[From Middle English filen, to put documents on file, from Old French filer, to spin thread, to put documents on a thread, from Late Latin fīlāre, to spin, draw out in a long line, from Latin fīlum, thread; see gwhī- in Indo-European roots.] |
| file 2 (fīl) n.
To smooth, reduce, or remove with or as if with a file. [Middle English, from Old English fīl; see peig- in Indo-European roots.] |
| file 3 (fīl) tr.v. filed, fil·ing, files Archaic To sully or defile. [Middle English filen, from Old English fȳlan; see p  - in Indo-European roots.] |
| fi·lé (fē'lā, fĭ-lā') n. Powdered sassafras leaves used to thicken and season soups, stews, and gumbos. [Louisiana French, from French, past participle of filer, to spin thread (from its effect when added to hot liquids), from Old French; see file1.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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File
File\ (f[imac]l), n. [F. file row (cf. Pr., Sp., Pg., & It. fila), LL. fila, fr. L. filum a thread. Cf. Enfilade, Filament, Fillet.]1. An orderly succession; a line; a row; as: (a) (Mil) A row of soldiers ranged one behind another; -- in contradistinction to rank, which designates a row of soldiers standing abreast; a number consisting the depth of a body of troops, which, in the ordinary modern formation, consists of two men, the battalion standing two deep, or in two ranks. Note: The number of files in a company describes its width, as the number of ranks does its depth; thus, 100 men in "fours deep" would be spoken of as 25 files in 4 ranks. --Farrow. (b) An orderly collection of papers, arranged in sequence or classified for preservation and reference; as, files of letters or of newspapers; this mail brings English files to the 15th instant. (c) The line, wire, or other contrivance, by which papers are put and kept in order. It is upon a file with the duke's other letters. --Shak. (d) A roll or list. "A file of all the gentry." --Shak. 2. Course of thought; thread of narration. [Obs.] Let me resume the file of my narration. --Sir H. Wotton. File firing, the act of firing by file, or each file independently of others. File leader, the soldier at the front of any file, who covers and leads those in rear of him. File marching, the marching of a line two deep, when faced to the right or left, so that the front and rear rank march side by side. --Brande & C. Indian file, or Single file, a line of men marching one behind another; a single row. On file, preserved in an orderly collection. Rank and file. (a) The body of soldiers constituing the mass of an army, including corporals and privates. --Wilhelm. (b) Those who constitute the bulk or working members of a party, society, etc., in distinction from the leaders.File
File\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filed; p. pr. & vb. n. Filing.]1. To set in order; to arrange, or lay away, esp. as papers in a methodical manner for preservation and reverence; to place on file; to insert in its proper place in an arranged body of papers. I would have my several courses and my dishes well filed. --Beau. & Fl. 2. To bring before a court or legislative body by presenting proper papers in a regular way; as, to file a petition or bill. --Burrill. 3. (Law) To put upon the files or among the records of a court; to note on (a paper) the fact date of its reception in court. To file a paper, on the part of a party, is to place it in the official custody of the clerk. To file, on the part of the clerk, is to indorse upon the paper the date of its reception, and retain it in his office, subject to inspection by whomsoever it may concern. --Burrill.File
File\, v. i. [Cf. F. filer.] (Mil.) To march in a file or line, as soldiers, not abreast, but one after another; -- generally with off. To file with, to follow closely, as one soldier after another in file; to keep pace. My endeavors Have ever come too short of my desires, Yet filed with my abilities. --Shak.File
File\, n. [AS. fe['o]l; akin to D. viji, OHG. f[=i]la, f[=i]hala, G. feile, Sw. fil, Dan. fiil, cf. Icel. ??l, Russ. pila, and Skr. pi? to cut out, adorn; perh. akin to E. paint.]1. A steel instrument, having cutting ridges or teeth, made by indentation with a chisel, used for abrading or smoothing other substances, as metals, wood, etc. Note: A file differs from a rasp in having the furrows made by straight cuts of a chisel, either single or crossed, while the rasp has coarse, single teeth, raised by the pyramidal end of a triangular punch. 2. Anything employed to smooth, polish, or rasp, literally or figuratively. Mock the nice touches of the critic's file. --Akenside. 3. A shrewd or artful person. [Slang] --Fielding. Will is an old file in spite of his smooth face. --Thackeray. Bastard file, Cross file, etc. See under Bastard, Cross, etc. Cross-cut file, a file having two sets of teeth crossing obliquely. File blank, a steel blank shaped and ground ready for cutting to form a file. File cutter, a maker of files. Second-cut file, a file having teeth of a grade next finer than bastard. Single-cut file, a file having only one set of parallel teeth; a float. Smooth file, a file having teeth so fine as to make an almost smooth surface.File
File\, v. t. 1. To rub, smooth, or cut away, with a file; to sharpen with a file; as, to file a saw or a tooth. 2. To smooth or polish as with a file. --Shak. File your tongue to a little more courtesy. --Sir W. Scott.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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file (v.)
"to place (papers) in consecutive order for future reference," 1473, from M.Fr. filer "string documents on a wire for preservation or reference," from fil "thread, string," from L. filum "thread," from PIE base *gwhis-lom (cf. Armenian jil "sinew, string, line," Lith. gysla "vein, sinew," O.C.S. zila "vein"). The notion is of documents hung up on a line like drying laundry. Methods have become more sophisticated, but the word has stuck. The noun first attested in Eng. in the military sense, "line or row of men," 1598, from M.Fr. filer in the sense of "spin out (thread), march in file." The noun meaning "arranged collection of papers" is from 1626; computer sense is from 1954.
file (n.)
"metal tool," O.E. feol (Mercian fil), from P.Gmc. *finkhlo (cf. O.H.G. fila, M.Du. vile, Ger. Feile), probably from PIE *pik-/*peik- "cut" (cf. Skt. pimsati "hews out, carves," L. pingere "to paint," O.C.S. pila "file, saw," Lith. pela "file;" see paint). The verb in this sense is from c.1225.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: file
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: filed; fil·ing
transitive verb 1 a : to submit (a legal document) to the proper office (as the office of a clerk of court) for keeping on file among the records esp. as a procedural step in a legal transaction or proceeding <filed a tax return> filed with the Secretary of State> <filing a notice of appeal>; also : RECORD <filed a mortgage in the Registry of Deeds>
NOTE: In nearly all cases, a document is deemed to be filed when it is actually received by the office to which it is directed. A few cases, however, have held that a document is filed upon the mailing of it. b : to place (as a document) on file among the records of an office esp. by formally receiving and endorsing filed by the clerk despite the absence of the filing fee>
2 : to return (the documentation in a case) to the records of a clerk of court without any determination of the case; broadly : to conclude (a case) without a determination on its merits
3 : to initiate (a judicial or administrative proceeding) by submitting the proper documents or following proper procedure : BRING
2 : to place items in a file
Main Entry: file
Function: noun
: a collection of papers or publications usually arranged or classified; specifically : the papers that make up the record of a case—on file : in or as if in a file for ready reference
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: file
Pronunciation: 'fI(&)l
Function: noun
1 : a tool usually of hardened steel with cutting ridges for forming or smoothing surfaces(as of a tooth)
2 : a narrow instrument for shaping fingernails with a fine rough metal or emery surface —file transitive verb filed;fil·ing
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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| file (fīl) Pronunciation Key
A collection of related data or program records stored as a unit with a single name. Files are the basic units that a computer works with in storing and retrieving data. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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file file system
An element of data storage in a file system.
The history of computing is rich in varied kinds of files and file systems, whether ornate like the Macintosh file system or deficient like many simple pre-1980s file systems that didn't have directories. However, a typical file has these characteristics:
* It is a single sequence of bytes (but consider Macintosh resource forks).
* It has a finite length, unlike, e.g., a Unix device.
* It is stored in a non-volatile storage medium (but see ramdrive).
* It exists (nominally) in a directory.
* It has a name that it can be referred to by in file operations, possibly in combination with its path.
Additionally, a file system may support other file attributes, such as permissions; timestamps for creation, last modification, and last access and revision numbers (a` la VMS).
Compare: document.
(2007-01-04)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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file
see in single file; on file; rank and file.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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