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fill

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Fill and fíll

English

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 fill on Wikipedia

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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    From Middle English fillen, fullen, from Old English fyllan (“to fill, fill up, replenish, satisfy; complete, fulfill”), from Proto-West Germanic *fullijan, from Proto-Germanic *fullijaną (“to make full, fill”), from *fullaz (“full”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”).

    Cognate with Scots fill (“to fill”), West Frisian folje (“to fill”), Low German füllen (“to fill”), Dutch vullen (“to fill”), German füllen (“to fill”), Danish fylde (“to fill”), Swedish fylla (“to fill”), Norwegian fylle (“to fill”), Icelandic fylla (“to fill”) and Latin plenus (“full”)

    Verb

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    fill (third-person singular simple present fills, present participle filling, simple past and past participle filled)

    1. (transitive, ergative) To make full
      1. To add contents to (a container, cavity, or the like) so that it is full.
        Synonym: stop
        She filled a glass with milk.
        dreams filled with surreal imagery
        • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
          My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.
        • 1950, Arthur W. Upfield, chapter 11, in The Bachelors of Broken Hill:
          She continued to frown as she filled Bony's cup and added brandy to her own.
        • 2005, Wendy Coakley-Thompson, What You Won't Do for Love‎[1], published 2006, →ISBN, page 10:
          She forgave him the pain as he filled the cavity in her back molar. Three weeks later, she let him fill a more intimate cavity.
        • 2006, Gilbert Morris, Sante Fe Woman‎[2], B&H, page 95:
          Grat Herendeen was the first man, a huge man with his bull whip coiled and over his shoulder seeming almost a part of him. He grinned at her as she filled his plate with the eggs and motioned toward the bacon. "Help yourself, Grat."
      2. To enter (something), making it full.
        The doors opened and guests filled the auditorium.
        • 1910 May 13, John C. Sherwin, opinion, Delashmutt et al. v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. et al., reprinted in volume 126, North Western Reporter, page 359, at 360:
          In the evening of the 14th of July, there was a rainfall of 3 or 3½ inches in that locality. The water filled the ditch so full that it overflowed the levees on both sides in many places […] .
        • 2004, Peter Westen, The Logic of Consent‎[3], Ashgate, →ISBN, page 322:
          As the crowd filled the aisles, S repeated loudly what he had announced upon entering the stadium: 'I don't want anyone to touch me, and I will call the police if anyone does.'
      3. To occupy fully, to take up all of.
        The smell of spring filled the air.
        • c. 1761, Tobias Smollett, transl., Don Quixote, part 2, book 5, chapter 4:
          […] the drums began to thunder, the sound of trumpets filled the air, the earth trembled beneath their feet, and the hearts of the gazing multitude throbbed with suspense and expectation […]
        • 1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter XXXVIII, in Great Expectations […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC:
          And now that I have given the one chapter to the theme that so filled my heart, and so often made it ache and ache again, I pass on, unhindered, to the event that had impended over me longer yet […] .
    2. (intransitive) To become full.
      1. (of containers, cavities, or the like)
        The bucket filled with rain
        The room filled with thick smoke.
        The sails fill with wind
      2. To become pervaded with something.
        My heart filled with joy.
    3. (transitive) To satisfy or meet (as, an order, request, or requirement).
      The pharmacist filled my prescription for penicillin.
      We can't let the library close! It fills a great need in the community.
      To qualify for a home loan, you need to fill a number of requirements.
    4. (transitive) To install someone, or be installed, in (a position or office), eliminating a vacancy.
      • 1891 January 23, Allen Morse, opinion, Lawrence v. Hanley, reprinted in volume 47, Northwestern Reporter, page 753, at 755:
        The board of supervisors called a specal[sic] election to fill the office, and at such special election Henry C. Andrews was elected judge of probate to fill out the said term.
      Sorry, no more applicants. The position has been filled.
    5. (transitive) To treat (a tooth) by adding a dental filling to it.
      Dr. Smith filled Jim's cavity with silver amalgam.
      • a. 1891, "Intimate Diagnosis of Diseased Teeth", in Items of Interest: A Monthly Magazine of Dental Art, Science and Literature, volume 13, number 11, November 1891, page 657 [4]:
        Be that as it may, had the disturbance continued after our having filled the molar, and presuming that nothing had been done to the bicuspid, we might have been still as far as ever from knowing where the trouble lay.
    6. (transitive) To block, obstruct.
      The drains were filled with gunk and no water could flow off.
    7. (transitive) To supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy.
      Are all the children filled and ready for bed?
    8. (transitive, nautical) To trim (a yard) so that the wind blows on the after side of the sails.
    9. (transitive, slang, vulgar, of a male) To have sexual intercourse with (a female).
      Did you fill that girl last night?
    10. (transitive, slang, vulgar, of a male) To ejaculate inside someone or something.
    Synonyms
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    Antonyms
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    • (antonym(s) of “add contents to a container or cavity”): empty
    • (antonym(s) of “to become full”): empty
    Hyponyms
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    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Etymology 2

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      From Middle English fille, vülle, fülle, from Old English fyllu, from Proto-West Germanic *fullī, from Proto-Germanic *fullį̄ (“fullness”). Cognate with German Fülle.

      Noun

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      fill (countable and uncountable, plural fills)

      1. (after a possessive) A sufficient or more than sufficient amount.
        Don't feed him any more: he's had his fill.
      2. An amount that fills a container.
        The mixer returned to the plant for another fill.
      3. The filling of a container or area.
        That machine can do 20 fills per minute.
        This paint program supports lines, circles, and textured fills.
      4. Inexpensive material used to occupy empty spaces, especially in construction.
        The ruins of earlier buildings were used as fill for more recent construction.
        • 1946, Digest of the Decisions of the Corps of Engineers Board of Contract Appeals, page 101:
          Strippage from a borrow area was first treated as waste, under the contract, but after passage of time was suitable for fill and was so used.
      5. (archaeology) Soil and/or human-created debris discovered within a cavity or cut in the layers and exposed by excavation; fill soil.
      6. An embankment, as in railroad construction, to fill a hollow or ravine; also, the place which is to be filled.
      7. (music) A short passage, riff, or rhythmic sound that helps to keep the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody.
        bass fill
        • 2015, Dawei Zheng, Control, Mechatronics and Automation Technology, →ISBN:
          The second part of recomposed Embroidering Golden Banner achieves the brightness and cheerfulness of music, and presents a cheerful passion through sanda playing methods such as left-hind octave fills, right-hand echo decoration, and encircled decoration.
      8. (film, television) Ellipsis of fill light.
      9. (weaving) The weft yarn.
      10. (crosswording) The answers in a crossword puzzle that are not part of the theme.
      Hyponyms
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      Derived terms
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      Translations
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      Etymology 3

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        See thill.

        Noun

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        fill (plural fills)

        1. One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.
          • 2008, Martha E. Green, Pioneers in Pith Helmets:
            It was a challenge to learn to harness him, guide him slowly back between the fills of the carriage, then to fasten the right buckles and snaps, making the harness and buggy all ready for travel to church or to town.

        Albanian

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        Etymology

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        Borrowed from Latin fīlum (“thread”).[1]

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        fill m (plural fije, definite filli, definite plural fijet)

        1. thread, yarn

        Declension

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        Declension of fill
        singular plural
        indefinite definite indefinite definite
        nominative fill filli fije fijet
        accusative fillin
        dative filli fillit fijeve fijeve
        ablative fijesh

        Derived terms

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        Adverb

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        fill

        1. at once, immediately, alone
        2. instant

        References

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        1. ^ Orel, Vladimir (1998), “fill”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden; Boston; Cologne: Brill, →ISBN, page 97

        Further reading

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        • “fill”, in FMGJSH: Fjalor i madh i gjuhës shqipe (in Albanian), 2026

        Catalan

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        Etymology

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        Etymology tree
        Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-
        Proto-Indo-European *-yós
        Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁ilyós
        Proto-Italic *θīlios
        Proto-Italic *fīlios
        Latin fīlius
        Catalan fill

          Inherited from Latin fīlius.

          Pronunciation

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          Noun

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          fill m (plural fills, feminine filla, feminine plural filles)

          1. son

          Derived terms

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          Further reading

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          Irish

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          Pronunciation

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          Etymology 1

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          From Old Irish fillid (“to bend, fold”), from Proto-Celtic *welnīti, from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to roll”) or *wel- (“to turn”).[1] Compare German walzen (“to roll”), Latin volvō (“to turn”).

          Alternative forms

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          Verb

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          fill (present analytic filleann, future analytic fillfidh, verbal noun filleadh, past participle fillte)

          1. to return, turn back
            D'fhill muid ar an óstán. ― We turned back to the hotel.
          2. to bend, fold
            D'fhill sí an páipéar ina dhá leath nuair a bhí sí réidh leis.
            She folded the newspaper in two when she was done with it.
          Conjugation
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          Conjugation of fill (first conjugation – A)
          indicative singular plural direct relative autonomous
          first second third first second third
          present fillim filleann tú;
          fillir†           		filleann sé, sí fillimid; filleann muid filleann sibh filleann siad;
          fillid†           		a fhilleann; a fhilleas filltear
          past d'fhill mé; d'fhilleas /
          fhill mé‡; fhilleas‡           		d'fhill tú; d'fhillis /
          fhill tú‡; fhillis‡           		d'fhill sé, sí /
          fhill sé, sí‡           		d'fhilleamar; d'fhill muid /
          fhilleamar‡; fhill muid‡           		d'fhill sibh; d'fhilleabhair /
          fhill sibh‡;
          fhilleabhair‡           		d'fhill siad; d'fhilleadar /
          fhill siad‡; fhilleadar‡           		a d'fhill filleadh
          past habitual d'fhillinn /
          fillinn‡           		d'fhillteá /
          fillteᇠ          		d'fhilleadh sé, sí /
          filleadh sé, sí‡           		d'fhillimis; d'fhilleadh muid /
          fillimis‡; filleadh muid‡           		d'fhilleadh sibh /
          filleadh sibh‡           		d'fhillidís; d'fhilleadh siad /
          fillidís‡; filleadh siad‡           		a d'fhilleadh d'fhilltí /
          filltí‡
          singular plural direct relative autonomous
          first second third first second third
          future fillfidh mé;
          fillfead           		fillfidh tú;
          fillfir†           		fillfidh sé, sí fillfimid;
          fillfidh muid           		fillfidh sibh fillfidh siad;
          fillfid†           		a fhillfidh; a fhillfeas fillfear
          conditional d'fhillfinn /
          fillfinn‡           		d'fhillfeá /
          fillfeᇠ          		d'fhillfeadh sé, sí /
          fillfeadh sé, sí‡           		d'fhillfimis; d'fhillfeadh muid /
          fillfimis‡; fillfeadh muid‡           		d'fhillfeadh sibh /
          fillfeadh sibh‡           		d'fhillfidís; d'fhillfeadh siad /
          fillfidís‡; fillfeadh siad‡           		a d'fhillfeadh d'fhillfí /
          fillfí‡
          subjunctive singular plural direct relative autonomous
          first second third first second third
          present go bhfille mé;
          go bhfillead†           		go bhfille tú;
          go bhfillir†           		go bhfille sé, sí go bhfillimid;
          go bhfille muid           		go bhfille sibh go bhfille siad;
          go bhfillid†           		— go bhfilltear
          past dá bhfillinn dá bhfillteá dá bhfilleadh sé, sí dá bhfillimis;
          dá bhfilleadh muid           		dá bhfilleadh sibh dá bhfillidís;
          dá bhfilleadh siad           		— dá bhfilltí
          imperative singular plural direct relative autonomous
          first second third first second third
          — fillim fill filleadh sé, sí fillimis filligí;
          fillidh†           		fillidís — filltear
          past participle fillte
          verbal noun filleadh

          † archaic or dialect form
          ‡ dependent form

          Derived terms
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          Etymology 2

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          See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

          Noun

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          fill

          1. genitive singular of feall

          Mutation

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          Mutated forms of fill
          radical lenition eclipsis
          fill fhill bhfill

          Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
          All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

          References

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          1. ^ Gordon, Randall Clark (2012), “fill-i- ‘bend’”, in Derivational Morphology of the Early Irish Verbal Noun, Los Angeles: University of California, 3.1.45., page 203

          Further reading

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          Luxembourgish

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          Verb

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          fill

          1. singular imperative of fillen

          Middle English

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          Etymology 1

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          Noun

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          fill

          1. alternative form of fille

          Etymology 2

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          Verb

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          fill

          1. alternative form of fillen

          Scottish Gaelic

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          Etymology

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          From Old Irish fillid (“turns back”), from Proto-Celtic *welnīti, from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“turn”).

          Pronunciation

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          Verb

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          fill (past dh'fhill, future fillidh, verbal noun filleadh, past participle fillte)

          1. fold; plait; twill
          2. imply
          3. contain, include

          Conjugation

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          Conjugation of fill (regular)
          indicative independent dependent
          personal impersonal personal impersonal
          past dh'fhill dh'fhilleadh dh'fhill dh'fhilleadh
          future fillidh fillear
          filltear           		fill fillear
          filltear
          relative future dh'fhilleas dh'fhillear — —
          conditional independent dependent
          personal impersonal personal impersonal
          first person singular dh'fhillinn dh'fhillteadh
          dh'fhillist1
          dh'fhilliste1           		fillinn fillteadh
          fillist1
          filliste1
          first person plural dh'fhilleamaid
          dh'fhilleadh sinn           		filleamaid
          filleadh sinn
          second/third person dh'fhilleadh filleadh
          imperative independent
          singular plural impersonal
          first person filleam filleamaid fillear
          filltear
          second person fill fillibh
          third person filleadh
          past participle fillte
          verbal noun filleadh

          1. Lewis dialect form

          Derived terms

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          Mutation

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          Mutation of fill
          radical lenition
          fill fhill

          Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
          All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

          References

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          • Edward Dwelly (1911), “fill”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
          • Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fillid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
          Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=fill&oldid=93694208"