fil·i·al
Audio Help [fil-ee-uh
l] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [fil-ee-uh
l] Pronunciation Key –adjective
| 1. | of, pertaining to, or befitting a son or daughter: filial obedience. |
| 2. | noting or having the relation of a child to a parent. |
| 3. | Genetics. pertaining to the sequence of generations following the parental generation, each generation being designated by an F followed by a subscript number indicating its place in the sequence. |
—Related forms
fil·i·al·ly, adverb
fil·i·al·ness, noun
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
filial
To learn more about filial visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| fil·i·al
Audio Help (fĭl'ē-əl, fē'lē-) Pronunciation Key
adj.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin fīliālis, from Latin fīlius, son; see dhē(i)- in Indo-European roots.] fil'i·al·ly adv. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
filial
1393, from M.Fr. filial, from L.L. filialis "of a son or daughter," from L. filius "son," filia "daughter," possibly from a suffixed form of PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow" (see be), though *dhe(i)- "to suck, suckle" (see fecund) "is more likely" [Watkins].
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| filial | |
adjective | |
| 1. | designating the generation or the sequence of generations following the parental generation [ant: parental] |
| 2. | relating to or characteristic of or befitting an offspring; "filial respect" [ant: maternal] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
filial [ˈfiliəl] adjective
of or suitable to a son or daughter
Example: filial piety
Example: filial piety
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Filial
Fil"ial\, a. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]1. Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. 2. Bearing the relation of a child. And thus the filial Godhead answering spoke. --Milton.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
filial
filial was Word of the Day on July 8, 2001.
| Dictionary.com Word of the Day |
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