Etymograph

English

filamentary

Filamentary comes from Medieval Latin fīlāmentum, from Latin fīlum ‘thread, string, filament, fiber’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fī(s)lom1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīlum1‘thread, string, filament, fiber’
  4. Late Latinmodernfīlō1
  5. Medieval Latinmodernfīlāmentum1
  6. English1500–presentfilament1
  7. Englishtodayfilamentary1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English filamentary

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-Wiktionary, English filamentaryreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fī(s)lomWiktionary, English filamentaryreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīlumWiktionary, English filamentary‘thread, string, filament, fiber’
  4. Late LatinmodernfīlōWiktionary, English filamentary
  5. Medieval LatinmodernfīlāmentumWiktionary, English filamentary
  6. English1500–presentfilamentWiktionary, English filamentary
  7. EnglishtodayfilamentaryWiktionary, English filamentary

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *fī(s)lom

defile, 42 more

through Latin fīlum ‘thread, string, filament, fiber’

file, annihilation, fillet, annihilate, nihilism, nihilist, nihil, 44 more

Today it means

adj Of, pertaining to, containing or resembling a filament or filaments.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “filamentary”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo- / filamentary

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