Etymology

filter

F4I1L1T1E1R1

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Middle English filtre ← Medieval Latin filtrum ← Frankish *filtir
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filter · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*felt
  2. Frankish · derived from*filtir
  3. Medieval Latin · derived fromfiltrum
  4. Middle English · inherited fromfiltre
  5. English todayfilter

From Middle English filtre, from Medieval Latin filtrum (compare also Old French feutre (“felt; filter”)), from Frankish *filtir, from Proto-West Germanic *felt. See felt. Doublet of phin.

Filter · proper noun2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pel-
  2. Proto-Germanic*fellą
  3. Proto-West Germanic*felt
  4. Medieval Latinfiltrum
  5. Germanfilterninflu.
  6. GermanFilter
  7. English todayFilter

Borrowed from German Filter.

Words from the same roots

Medieval Latinfiltrum all →

fewter

Proto-West Germanic*felt all →

felt

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.