Etymology
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filter (n.)

early 15c., "piece of felt through which liquid is strained," from Old French feutre "felt, felt hat, carpet" (Modern French filtre) and directly from Medieval Latin filtrum "felt" (used to strain impurities from liquid), from West Germanic *filtiz (from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive"). Figurative use from c. 1600. As a pad of absorbent material attached to a cigarette, from 1908.

filter (v.)

1570s (transitive), from French filtrer or from Medieval Latin filtrare, from filtrum "felt" (see filter (n.)). The figurative sense is from 1830. Intransitive use from 1798. Related: Filtered; filtering.

Entries linking to filter

*pel- (5)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to thrust, strike, drive."

It forms all or part of: anvil; appeal; catapult; compel; dispel; expel; felt (n.) "unwoven fabric matted together by rolling or beating;" filter; filtrate; impel; impulse; interpellation; interpolate; peal; pelt (v.) "to strike (with something);" polish; propel; pulsate; pulsation; pulse (n.1) "a throb, a beat;" push; rappel; repeal; repel; repousse.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek pallein "to wield, brandish, swing," pelemizein "to shake, cause to tremble;" Latin pellere "to push, drive;" Old Church Slavonic plŭstĭ.

felt (n.)

unwoven fabric matted together by rolling or beating while wet, Old English felt "felt," from West Germanic *feltaz "something beaten, compressed wool" (source also of Old Saxon filt, Middle Dutch vilt, Old High German filz, German Filz, Danish filt), from Proto-Germanic *felt- "to beat," from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive," with a sense of "beating." Compare filter (n.). Felt-tipped pen (or -tip) is from 1953.

updated on May 24, 2017

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Dictionary entries near filter

film noir

film-maker

filmography

film-strip

filmy

filter

filth

filthy

filtrate

filtration

fimbria

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