fillip
Syllables: fil·lip/ˈfɪlɪp/
fillip noun: the action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb and then releasing it with a snap; a flick.
Noun
fillip (plural fillips)
- The action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb and then releasing it with a snap; a flick.
- And let him ſuppoſe, that if a Man in the beginning of the World, or four or five hundred Years ago, had laid a little round Marble upon a Table, and to put the ſame in Motion, had given it a Fillip with his Finger; the ſaid Marble, according to the abovemention'd Law of Nature, would (if no other...1724, [Bernard] Nieuwentyt, “Contemplation XXVI. Of Certain Laws of Nature.”, in John Chamberlayne, transl., The Religious Philosopher: Or, The Right Use of Contemplating the Works of the Creator....
- A sharp strike or tap made using this action, or (by extension) by other means.
- The blasphemy done to a mortal man is punished with the sword, and shall the blasphemy done to God escape think you with a fillip in the forehead, or with the knock of a little wooden betel, as it is begun to be punished in certain men's houses now of late? Nay, verily. It is no fillip matter...1543, Thomas Becon [i.e., Thomas Beccon], “An Invective against the Most Wicked and Detestable Vice of Swearing”, in Writings of the Rev. Thomas Becon, […] (British Reformers; 10), London: Printed...
- Arch[ers]. In default of six pistoles, / Choose then without ado / To receive thirty fillips, / Or twelve blows with the stick. / Punch. If it must be, and that I must pass through that, I choose the fillips.1876, Molière [pseudonym; Jean-Baptiste Poquelin], “The Imaginary Invalid”, in Henri van Laun, transl., The Dramatic Works of Molière: Rendered into English […], volume VI, Edinburgh: William...
- Something unimportant, a trifle; also, the brief time it takes to flick one's finger (see noun sense 1); a jiffy.
- Eat, drink and love; the rest's not worth a fillip.1821, Lord Byron, “Sardanapalus”, in Sardanapalus, a Tragedy; The Two Foscari, a Tragedy; Cain, a Mystery, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, page 20
- Now among the treasures in the palace of the Dragon King of the World Under the Sea were two jewels having wondrous power over the tides. [...] Whoever owned them had the power to make the tides instantly rise or fall at his word, to make the dry land appear, or the sea overwhelm it, in the fillip...1880, William Elliot Griffis, Japanese Fairy World. Stories from the Wonder-lore of Japan, Schenectady, N.Y.: James H. Barhyte, →OCLC, pages 276–277
- Something that excites or stimulates.
- This measure gave a fillip to the housing market.
- The athlete’s victory provided a much-needed fillip for national pride.
Verb
fillip (third-person singular simple present fillips, present participle filliping or (archaic) fillipping, simple past and past participle filliped or (archaic) fillipped)
- To strike, project, or propel with a fillip (that is, a finger released quickly after being pressed against the thumb); to flick.
- Mene[laus]. An odde man Lady, euery man is odde. / Creſ[ſida]. No Paris is not, for you know tis true, / That you are odde and he is euen with you. / Mene. You fillip me a'th head.c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609...
- The Sounds that produce Tones, are euer from ſuch Bodies, as are in their Parts and Pores Equall; As well as the Sounds themſelues are Equall; And ſuch as are the Percuſſions of Metall, as in Bels; Of Glaſſe, as in the Fillipping of a Drinking Glaſſe; [...]1631, Francis [Bacon], “II. Century. [Experiments in Consort Touching Musicke.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley […]...
- To project quickly; to snap.
- Yet he obſerv'd how ſtill his Iron Balls / Recoyl'd in vain againſt our Oaken Walls. / How the hard Pellets fell away as dead, / By our inchanted Timber fillipped.1697, John Denham, “Directions to a Painter”, in Poems on Affairs of State: From the Time of Oliver Cromwell, to the Abdication of K. James the Second. […], [London]: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 38
- The use of the elastic switch to fillip small missiles with, and the remarkable elastic darts of the Pelew Islands, bent and made to fly by their own spring, indicate inventions which may have led to that of the bow, while the arrow is a miniature form of the javelin.1871, Edward B[urnett] Tylor, “The Development of Culture”, in Primitive Culture: Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Art, and Custom. … In Two Volumes, volume I...
- To strike or tap smartly.
- [I]t was almost, if not quite as fine in Napoleon, hitting the Frenchmen between wind and water, filliping their chivalry on the one hand, by absolutely disbelieving that so many would go about to kill one man, and catching their admiration of courage on the other, by affecting to consider them as...1839, A. M., “Part II”, in A Challenge to Phrenologists; or, Phrenology Tested by Reason and Facts, London: James S. Hodson, […], →OCLC, page 69
- The most convenient pleximeter is the middle finger of the left hand, smoothly applied by its palmar surface on the part to be percussed. [...] The stroke is made, in most cases, with the tips of the two or three first fingers brought to a level, or with only a single finger. [...] Percussion may...1852, Edward Ballard, “Percussion”, in The Physical Diagnosis of Diseases of the Abdomen, London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberley, […], →OCLC, part I (Method and General Results of Physical...
- To drive as if by a fillip (noun sense 1); to excite, stimulate, whet.
- The spicy aroma filliped my appetite.
- Grand snoozing to-night, maty; fat night for that. I mark this in our old Mogul's wine; it’s quite as deadening to some as filliping to others.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Midnight, Forecastle”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 190
- To make a fillip (noun sense 1) (with the fingers).
- As they were drinking after dinner, the prince jocosely dipped his finger in a glass of wine, and fillipped it into Oglethorpe's face.1808, W[illiam] Giplin, “[Miscellaneous Essays.] On Duelling. [From Dialogues on Various Subjects, by the late Rev. W. Gilpin, A.M.]”, in Edmund Burke, editor, The Annual Register, or A View of the...
- "Oh! we have done very, very wrong in giving our daughter in marriage to you, for if I but fillip my finger, and the fillip should fall on her baby's eye, it will be blind, and there will be our poor little grandchild with only one eye." "But where is the child?" said the Sultan. "It may come, you...1844 June, “The Idle Family: An Eastern Apologue. Translated from the Arabic, …”, in A. T. R., transl., Hood’s Magazine and Comic Miscellany, volume I, number VI, London: Published for the...
fillip meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Telugu and Malayalam
fillip in Tamil
- உந்துதல், ஊக்கப்படுத்துதல், விரல் நொடிப்பு
fillip in Urdu
- چھیڑ, چھیڑنا, شہ دینا
fillip in Telugu
- action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb and then releasing it with a snap
- చిటిక ciṭika
fillip in Malayalam
- boost, stimulus, stimulation
- ചോദകവസ്തു, ചോദനം, ഉദ്ദീപനൗഷധം, പ്രലോഭനവസ്തു, പ്രേരണോപാധി, ഉത്തേജകവസ്തു
More languagesFewer languages
- fillip in Kannada
- ಉತ್ತೇಜನ, ಪ್ರೇರಣೆ, ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹ, ಅಲ್ಪವಾದದ್ದು
Examples of fillip in a sentence
- It is no fillip matter except we will admit such a fillip as shall fillip them down into the bottom of hell-fire.1543, Thomas Becon [i.e., Thomas Beccon], “An Invective against the Most Wicked and Detestable Vice of Swearing”, in Writings of the Rev....
- He had a quiz and a fillip for every one, and a good thing on every occasion.1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Club of Queer Fellows”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 2 (Buckthorne and His...
- Changes, however, such as we all require, must by no means be confused with fillips—artificial stimulants, which are bad for everybody.1867 May 4, “Changes and Fillips”, in William, Robert Chambers, editors, Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Art, number...
- It only requires a bit of a spurt to give a fillip to several branches, and these would stimulate the rest.1903 July 10, “The Late Mr. James M. Gale”, in W[illiam] H[enry] Maw, J[ames] Dredge [Jr.], editors, Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly...
Synonyms of fillip
26 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- exhilarate
- fire
- fire the blood
- galvanize
- gin up
- ignite
- intoxicate
- kindle
- quicken
- rouse
- send
- set fire to
- set on fire
- sharpen
- stir the blood
- thrill
- vitalise
- wake
- warm the blood
- whet
- wind up
- work up
- exagitate
- exsuscitate
- suscitate
- yerk
Forms of fillip
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | fillips |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | fillips |
| present participle | filliping |
| past participle | filliped |
| past | filliped |
| present participle (archaic) | fillipping |
| past participle (archaic) | fillipped |
| past (archaic) | fillipped |
Origin of fillip
From Middle English filippen, philippe (“to flick or snap a finger from against the thumb”); further origin uncertain, but probably imitative. See flip. It is not clear whether the verb is derived from the noun, or vice versa.
Words formed from fillip
Questions about fillip
- What does fillip mean?
- Fillip means the action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb and then releasing it with a snap; a flick.
- What is fillip in Tamil?
- Fillip in Tamil is உந்துதல், ஊக்கப்படுத்துதல், விரல் நொடிப்பு. See Fillip meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use fillip in a sentence?
- It is no fillip matter except we will admit such a fillip as shall fillip them down into the bottom of hell-fire.
- What part of speech is fillip?
- Fillip can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce fillip?
- Fillip is pronounced /ˈfɪlɪp/ (UK).
- What is the plural of fillip?
- The plural of fillip is fillips.
Words near fillip in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: fillip (page history and authors); fillip (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); fillip (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); fillip (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); fillip (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-fillip.oga.
Cite this entry: “fillip.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fillip. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.