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filters

 [fil-ter]   Origin

fil·ter

   [fil-ter]
noun
1.
any substance, as cloth, paper, porous porcelain, or a layer of charcoal or sand, through which liquid or gas is passed to remove suspended impurities or to recover solids.
2.
any device, as a tank or tube, containing such a substance for filtering.
3.
any of various analogous devices, as for removing dust from air or impurities from tobacco smoke, or for eliminating certain kinds of light rays.
4.
Informal. a filter-tipped cigarette or cigar.
5.
Photography. a lens screen of dyed gelatin or glass for controlling the rendering of color or for diminishing the intensity of light.
EXPAND
6.
Electronics, Physics. a circuit or device that passes certain frequencies and blocks others.
7.
Mathematics. a collection of subsets of a topological space, having the properties that the intersection of two subsets in the collection is a subset in the collection and that any set containing a subset in the collection is in the collection.
COLLAPSE
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verb (used with object)
8.
to remove by the action of a filter.
9.
to act as a filter for; to slow or partially obstruct the passage of: The thick leaves filtered the sunlight.
10.
to pass through or as through a filter.

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Filters is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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verb (used without object)
11.
to pass or slip through slowly, as through an obstruction or a filter: Enemy agents managed to filter into the embattled country.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English filtre < Medieval Latin filtrum felt, piece of felt used to strain liquids < Germanic; see felt2

Related forms
fil·ter·er, noun
non·fil·ter, noun
o·ver·fil·ter, verb (used with object)
pre·fil·ter, noun
re·fil·ter, verb (used with object)
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un·fil·ter·ing, adjective
well-fil·tered, adjective
COLLAPSE

Synonyms
11. penetrate, sift, seep, trickle, leak.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To filters
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

filter
c.1400, from M.L. filtrum "felt," which was used to strain impurities from liquid, from W.Gmc. *filtiz (see felt). Of cigarettes, from 1908. The verb is from 1570s; the figurative sense is from 1830. Related: Filtered; filtering.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

filter fil·ter (fĭl'tər)
n.

  1. A porous material through which a liquid or gas is passed in order to separate the fluid from suspended particulate matter.

  2. A device containing such a substance.

  3. Any of various electric, electronic, acoustic, or optical devices used to reject signals, vibrations, or radiations of certain frequencies while passing others.

  4. A translucent screen, used in both diagnostic and therapeutic radiology, that permits the passage of rays having desirable levels of energy.

  5. A device used in spectrophotometric analysis to isolate a segment of the spectrum.

v. fil·tered, fil·ter·ing, fil·ters

  1. To pass a liquid or gas through a filter.

  2. To remove by passing through a filter.

  3. To pass through or as if through a filter.

fil'ter·er n.
fil'ter·less adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
filter   (fĭl'tər)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A material that has very tiny holes and is used to separate out solid particles contained in a liquid or gas that is passed through it.

  2. A device that allows signals with certain properties, such as signals lying in a certain frequency range, to pass while blocking the passage of others. For example, filters on photographic lenses allow only certain frequencies of light to enter the camera, while polarizing filters allow only light polarized along a given plane to pass. Radio tuners are filters that allow frequencies of only a narrow range to pass into an amplification circuit.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

filter definition


A computer software program that selectively screens out incoming information.

Note: Spam may be the target of a filter, or parents may use a filter designed to prevent their child's access to pornographic or violent Web pages.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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