English
filter
Filter comes from Medieval Latin filtrum ‘felt’, from Proto-Germanic *fellą ‘skin, hide’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fellą‘skin, hide’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*feltreconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500filtrum‘felt’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500filtre
- Englishearliest quotation 1954filter
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fellą‘skin, hide’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*feltreconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500filtrum‘felt’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500filtre
- Englishearliest quotation 1954filter
Earliest quotation: 1954, Alexander Alderson: “You have probably never seen anything like this before,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pel-
simple, simply, push, film, complain, fold, pulse, powder, repeal, pillow, flaw, pollen, compulsive, expel, repel, palpable, palladium, propel, palate, palatable, pall, wallow, peloton, polemic, pelt, tuple, palatal, pollinate, apoplexy, peplum, palp, pulver, pillion, interpolate, 63 more
through Proto-Germanic *fellą ‘skin, hide’
through Proto-West Germanic *felt
Today it means
noun A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from another.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pel- / filter