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File

 - 16 dictionary results

file

1  [fahyl] noun, verb, filed, fil⋅ing.
Use File in a Sentence
–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.
a. a person in front of or behind another in a military formation.
b. one step on a promotion list.
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.
a. to arrange (copy) in the proper order for transmittal by wire.
b. to transmit (copy), as by wire or telephone: He filed copy from Madrid all through the war.
–verb (used without object)
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.
—Idiom
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

Related forms:
file⋅a⋅ble, adjective
filer, noun

Synonyms:
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

Related forms:
file⋅a⋅ble, adjective
filer, noun

file

3  [fahyl]
–verb (used with object), filed, fil⋅ing. Archaic.
to defile; corrupt.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE fȳlan to befoul, defile, deriv. of fūl foul

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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To File
file 1   (fīl)   
n.  

  1. A container, such as a cabinet or folder, for keeping papers in order.

  2. A collection of papers or published materials kept or arranged in convenient order.

  3. Computer Science A collection of related data or program records stored as a unit with a single name.

    1. A line of persons, animals, or things positioned one behind the other.

    2. A line of troops or military vehicles so positioned.

  5. Games Any of the rows of squares that run forward and backward between players on a playing board in chess or checkers.

  6. Archaic A list or roll.

v.   filed, fil·ing, files

v.   tr.

  1. To put or keep (papers, for example) in useful order for storage or reference.

  2. To enter (a legal document) on public official record.

  3. To send or submit (copy) to a newspaper.

  4. To carry out the first stage of (a lawsuit, for example): filed charges against my associate.

v.   intr.

  1. To march or walk in a line.

  2. To put items in a file.

  3. To make application; apply: filed for a job with the state; file for a divorce.

  4. To enter one's name in a political contest: filed for Congress.


[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.  

  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 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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Slang Dictionary
(pro)file

  1. in.
    to walk about and show something off; to walk carefully in a way that gets attention. (As if showing one's profile.) : Look at Albert profiling along! What a nerd.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

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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Legal Dictionary

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 file charges> filed by representatives of the estates —J. H. Friedenthal et al.> intransitive verb 1 : to register as a candidate esp. in a primary election
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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Medical Dictionary

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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Computing Dictionary

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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Idioms & Phrases

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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