Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

fillet

 - 9 dictionary results

fillet

[fil-it; usually fi-ley for 1, 10]
–noun
1. Cookery.
a. a boneless cut or slice of meat or fish, esp. the beef tenderloin.
b. a piece of veal or other meat boned, rolled, and tied for roasting.
2. a narrow band of ribbon or the like worn around the head, usually as an ornament; headband.
3. any narrow strip, as wood or metal.
4. a strip of any material used for binding.
5. Bookbinding.
a. a decorative line impressed on a book cover, usually at the top and bottom of the back.
b. a rolling tool for impressing such lines.
6. Architecture.
a. Also called list. a narrow flat molding or area, raised or sunk between larger moldings or areas.
b. a narrow portion of the surface of a column left between adjoining flutes.
7. Anatomy. lemniscus.
8. a raised rim or ridge, as a ring on the muzzle of a gun.
9. Metallurgy. a concave strip forming a rounded interior angle in a foundry pattern.
–verb (used with object)
10. Cookery.
a. to cut or prepare (meat or fish) as a fillet.
b. to cut fillets from.
11. to bind or adorn with or as if with a fillet.
12. Machinery. to round off (an interior angle) with a fillet.
Also, filet (for defs. 1, 10).


Origin:
1300–50; ME filet < AF, MF, equiv. to fil thread + -et -et

lem⋅nis⋅cus

[lem-nis-kuhs]
–noun, plural -nis⋅ci [-nis-ahy, -nis-kee] . Anatomy.
a band of fibers, esp. of white nerve fibers in the brain.
Also called fillet, laqueus.


Origin:
1840–50; < NL, special use of L lēmniscus pendent ribbon < Gk lēmnískos ribbon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fillet
fil·let   (fĭl'ĭt)   
n.  
  1. A narrow strip of ribbon or similar material, often worn as a headband.

  2. also fi·let (fĭ-lā', fĭl'ā')

    1. A strip or compact piece of boneless meat or fish, especially the beef tenderloin.

    2. A boneless strip of meat rolled and tied, as for roasting.

    3. A thin flat molding used as separation between or ornamentation for larger moldings.

    4. A ridge between the indentations of a fluted column.

  3. Architecture

    1. A thin flat molding used as separation between or ornamentation for larger moldings.

    2. A ridge between the indentations of a fluted column.

  4. A narrow decorative line impressed onto the cover of a book.

  5. Heraldry A narrow horizontal band placed in the lower fourth area of the chief.

  6. Anatomy A loop-shaped band of fibers, such as the lemniscus.

tr.v.   fil·let·ed, fil·let·ing, fil·lets
  1. To bind or decorate with or as if with a fillet.

  2. also fi·let (fĭ-lā', fĭl'ā') To slice, bone, or make into fillets.


[Middle English filet, from Old French, diminutive of fil, thread, from Latin fīlum; see gwhī- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

fillet 
1327, "headband," from O.Fr. filet, dim. of fil "thread." Sense of "cut of meat or fish" is c.1420, apparently so called because it was prepared by being tied up with a string.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fil·let
Pronunciation: 'fil-&t
Function: noun
: a band of anatomical fibers; specifically : LEMNISCUS

Main Entry: lem·nis·cus
Pronunciation: lem-'nis-k&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural lem·nis·ci /-'nis-"(k)I, -'nis-"kE/
: a band of fibers and especially nerve fibers called also fillet; —see LATERAL LEMNISCUS, MEDIAL LEMNISCUSlem·nis·cal /-k&l/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

fillet fil·let (fĭl'ĭt)
n.

  1. A loop of cord or tape used for making traction on a part of the fetus.

  2. A loop-shaped band of fibers, especially the lemniscus.

lemniscus lem·nis·cus (lěm-nĭs'kəs)
n. pl. lem·nis·ci (-nĭs'ī', -nĭs'kī', -nĭs'kē)
A bundle of nerve fibers ascending from sensory nuclei in the spinal cord and the rhombencephalon to the thalamus.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

fillet

(from Latin filum, "thread"), in architecture, the characteristically rectangular or square ribbonlike bands that separate moldings and ornaments. Fillets are common in classical architecture (in which they also may be found between the flutings of columns) and in Gothic architecture. In the Early English and Decorated styles of the 13th and 14th centuries, respectively, the fillet is frequently worked upon larger moldings and column shafts; in these cases it is not always flat but rather is sometimes cut into two or more narrow faces that have sharp edges between them. See also molding

Learn more about fillet with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see fillet on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: