filament

English

a filament of solar material

a glowing light bulb filament

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-der.

Proto-Italic *fī(s)lom

Latin fīlum

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Late Latin fīlō

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom

Proto-Italic *-məntom

Latin -mentum

Medieval Latin fīlāmentumbor.

English filament

Borrowed from Medieval Latin fīlāmentum, from Late Latin fīlō (“to spin, draw out in a long line”), from Latin fīlum (“thread”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɪləmənt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

filament (plural filaments)

1. A fine thread or wire.
2. Such a wire, as can be heated until it glows, in an incandescent light bulb or a thermionic valve.
   • 1979 August, Graham Burtenshaw, Michael S. Welch, “O.V.S. Bulleid's SR loco-hauled coaches - 1”, in Railway World, page 398:

     Lighting was unimaginative for the standard stock with naked tungsten filament bulbs and metal reflectors. However, all compartments had individual reading lights above the seats with attractive glass shades.

3. (physics, astronomy) A massive, thread-like structure, such as those gaseous ones which extend outward from the surface of the sun, or such as those (much larger) ones which form the boundaries between large voids in the universe.

   solar filament

   galaxy filament

   the Ursa Major Filament

4. (botany) The stalk of a flower stamen, supporting the anther.
5. (textiles) A continuous object, limited in length only by its spool, and not cut to length.
   1. (3D printing) A spool of plastic used as a material for 3D-printed objects.

Derived terms

• biofilament
• cofilament
• filamental
• filamentary
• filamentation
• filamented
• filamenteous
• filamentiferous
• filamenting
• filamentless
• filamentlike
• filament of galaxies
• filamentoid
• filamentous
• filament tape
• filamin
• galaxy filament
• granulofilament
• heterofilament
• homofilament
• interfilament
• intermediate filament
• macrofilament
• melanofilament
• microfilament
• minifilament
• monofilament
• multifilament
• myofilament
• nanofilament
• neurofilament
• nonfilament
• nucleofilament
• polyfilament
• protofilament
• pseudofilament
• sliding filament model
• solar filament
• superfilament
• tonofilament
• vortex filament

Translations

fine thread or wire

• Bashkir: сүс (süs)
• Bulgarian: ни́шка (bg) f (níška), жи́чка (bg) f (žíčka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 纖維 / 纤维 (zh) (xiānwéi)

• Czech: nitka (cs) f, drátek (cs) m
• Danish: tråd (da) c, fiber c
• Finnish: säie (fi), kuitu (fi)
• French: filament (fr) m
• Galician: filamento (gl) m
• German: Faser (de) f
• Hungarian: szál (hu), rost (hu)
• Italian: filamento (it) m
• Japanese: 繊維 (ja) (せんい, sen'i)
• Latin: fibra f
• Māori: waea rauangi (refers to fine wire), kakawaea (refers to fine wire)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: filament n

  Nynorsk: filament n

• Portuguese: filamento (pt) m
• Russian: нить (ru) f (nitʹ), волокно́ (ru) n (voloknó), волосо́к (ru) m (volosók)
• Sanskrit: अंशु (sa) m (aṃśu)
• Spanish: filamento (es), brenca f
• Tagalog: walidwid
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: ایپلك (iplik)

wire in an incandescent light bulb

• Bulgarian: жи́чка (bg) f (žíčka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 燈絲 / 灯丝 (zh) (dēngsī)

• Czech: vlákno (cs) n
• Danish: glødetråd c
• Finnish: hehkulanka (fi)
• French: filament (fr) m
• Galician: filamento (gl) m
• German: Glühwendel f
• Hebrew: חוט להט
• Hungarian: izzószál (hu)
• Italian: filamento (it) m
• Japanese: フィラメント (ja) (firamento)
• Korean: 필라멘트 (ko) (pillamenteu), 선조 (ko) (線條)
• Māori: waea rauangi, kakawaea
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: filament n

  Nynorsk: filament n

• Polish: żarnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: filamento (pt) m
• Russian: нить нака́ла f (nitʹ nakála), волосо́к (ru) m (volosók)
• Swedish: glödtråd (sv)

stalk of a stamen in a flower

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 花絲 / 花丝 (zh) (huāsī)

• Danish: støvtråd c
• Finnish: palho (fi)
• Galician: filamento (gl) m
• Hungarian: porzószál (hu)
• Icelandic: frjóþráður m
• Japanese: 花糸 (ja) (かし, kashi)
• Manx: faast m
• Māori: kaka
• Portuguese: filamento (pt) m
• Russian: тычи́ночная нить f (tyčínočnaja nitʹ)
• Spanish: filamento (es) m
• Swedish: ståndarsträng (sv) c
• Thai: ก้านชูอับเรณู (gâan-chuu-àp-ree-nuu)

continuous object, limited in length only by its spool

• Bulgarian: влакно́ (bg) n (vlaknó)
• Russian: волокно́ (ru) n (voloknó)

Anagrams

• left main

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɪlamɛnt]
• Hyphenation: fi‧la‧ment

Noun

filament m inan

1. filament

Declension

Declension of filament (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	filament	filamenty
genitive	filamentu	filamentů
dative	filamentu	filamentům
accusative	filament	filamenty
vocative	filamente	filamenty
locative	filamentu	filamentech
instrumental	filamentem	filamenty

Further reading

• “filament”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin fīlāmentum.

Noun

filament n (singular definite filamentet, plural indefinite filamenter)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Declension

Declension of filament

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	filament	filamentet	filamenter	filamenterne
genitive	filaments	filamentets	filamenters	filamenternes

References

• “filament” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Agen)):

  (file)

Noun

filament m (plural filaments)

1. filament

Further reading

• “filament”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Medieval Latin fīlāmentum.

Noun

filament n (definite singular filamentet, indefinite plural filament or filamenter, definite plural filamenta or filamentene)

1. a filament

References

• “filament” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Medieval Latin fīlāmentum.

Noun

filament n (definite singular filamentet, indefinite plural filament, definite plural filamenta)

1. a filament

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French filament, from Latin filamentum.

Noun

filament n (plural filamente)

1. filament

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	filament	filamentul	filamente	filamentele
genitive-dative	filament	filamentului	filamente	filamentelor
vocative	filamentule		filamentelor