File Comes From the Thread Documents Were Strung On
A file is a collection of papers. The name comes from the wire that held them together.
A file is a collection of papers or data, a line of people, or a metal tool for smoothing. The document sense comes from Latin *filum*, a thread: clerks strung papers on a wire or string to keep them in order, and the thread named the collection. A line of people marching one behind another is the same image. The tool is a separate Old English word, and in chess a *file* is a column of squares, again a line.
- A collection of documents. *A personnel file.*
- A line of people. *In single file.*
- A smoothing tool. *A metal file.*
- A chess column. *The king's file.*
- Latin — *filum*, a thread. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | file | A file. |
| Plural | files | Files. |
| Verb | file | Filing. |
| Compound | filing cabinet | A filing cabinet. |
| Latin | filum | A thread. |
- The file was three inches thick.Documents.
- They walked in single file.Line.
- Smooth the edge with a file.Tool.
The filum family
- File — papers strung on a thread
- Filament — a fine thread, as in a light bulb
- Filigree — delicate threaded metalwork
- Profile — an outline drawn as a thread of line
- Fillet — a band, and a thin strip of meat or fish
French *fil*, a thread, from Latin *filum*. The tool is Old English *feol*.
Why is a set of documents called a file?
Because clerks strung papers on a thread or wire to keep them in order. The thread named the collection.
Is the metal file the same word?
No. That comes from Old English feol and is unrelated to the Latin word for thread.