filé

/fɪˈleɪ//fiːˈleɪ/

noun

A spicy herb made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum) and used in Louisiana Creole cooking.

OriginFrench filé →
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Meanings

nounfilé (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA spicy herb made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum) and used in Louisiana Creole cooking.

Origin

  1. Frenchfilé“threaded”
  2. Englishfilé

From French filé (“threaded”), after the way sassafras is processed.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

filet
Cite this entry
APA

filé. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fil%C3%A9

MLA

“filé.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fil%C3%A9. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “filé,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fil%C3%A9.

Source: filé on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.