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Origin and history of fill

fill(v.)

Old English fyllan "to fill, make full, fill up, replenish, satisfy; complete, fulfill," from Proto-Germanic *fulljanan "to fill" (source also of Old Saxon fulljan, Old Norse fylla, Old Frisian fella, Dutch vullen, German füllen, Gothic fulljan "to fill, make full"), a derivative of adjective *fullaz "full" (see full (adj.)). Related: Filled.

To fill the bill (1882) originally was U.S. theatrical slang, in reference to a star of such magnitude his or her name would be the only one on a show's poster. To fill out "write in required matter" is recorded from 1880.

fill(n.)

mid-13c., fille, "a full supply," from Old English fyllu "fullness, 'fill,' feast, satiety," from Proto-Germanic *full-ino- "fullness" (source also of Old High German fulli, German Fülle, Old Norse fyllr), noun of state from *fullaz "full" (see full (adj.)). Meaning "extra material in music" is from 1934.

also from mid-13c.

Entries linking to fill

full(adj.)

Old English full "containing all that can be received; having eaten or drunk to repletion; filled; perfect, entire, utter," from Proto-Germanic *fullaz "full" (source also of Old Saxon full, Old Frisian ful, Dutch vol, Old High German fol, German voll, Old Norse fullr, Gothic fulls), from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill." Related: Fuller; fullest.

The adverb is Old English ful "very, fully, entirely, completely" and was common in Middle English (full well, full many, etc.); sense of "quite, exactly, precisely" is from 1580s. Full moon, one with its whole disc illuminated, was Old English fulles monan; first record of full-blood in reference to racial purity is from 1812. Full house is 1710 in the theatrical sense, 1887 in the poker sense (three of a kind and a pair, earlier full-hand, 1850). Full-dress (adj.) "appropriate to a formal occasion" is from 1761, from the noun phrase.

backfill(n.)

1900, "material taken from an excavation used to fill a depression," 1900, from back fill (v.), which is attested by 1880; see back (adv.) + fill (v.).

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Trends of fill

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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fulfill
Old English fullfyllan "fill up" (a room, a ship, etc.), "make full; take the place of (something)," from full (adj.), here perhaps with a sense of "completion" + fyllan (see fill (v.), which is ultimately from the same root). It was used from mid-13c. in reference to prophecy (p
empty
c. 1200, from Old English æmettig, of persons, "at leisure, not occupied; unmarried" (senses now obsolete), also, of receptacles, "containing nothing," of places, "unoccupied," from æmetta "leisure." Watkins explains it as from Proto-Germanic *e-mot-ja-, with a prefix of uncertai
replete
from Old French replet "filled up" (14c.) and directly from Latin repletus "filled, full," past participle of replere "to fill...; fill again, re-fill," from re- "back, again" (here perhaps an intensive prefix based on the notion of "fill repeatedly,..." thus "fill completely;" see re-) + plere "to fill" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill")....
supply
late 14c., "to help, support, maintain," also "fill up, make up for," from Old French soupplier "fill up, make full" (Modern...French suppléer) and directly from Latin supplere "fill up, make full, complete," from assimilated form of sub "up from...below" (see sub-) + plere "to fill" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill")....
replenish
food or drink, also riches, beauty, etc., from Old French repleniss-, extended present-participle stem of replenir "to fill...up," from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix based on the notion of "fill repeatedly," thus "fill completely" (see re...-), + -plenir, from Latin plenus "full" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill")....Specifically as "to fill up again, restore to a former amount or condition" by 1610s....
expletive
1610s, "a word or phrase serving to fill out a sentence or metrical line," from French explétif (15c.) and directly from...Late Latin expletivus "serving to fill out," from explet-  past-participle stem of Latin explere "fill out, fill up,...glut," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + plere "to fill" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill")....
deluge
late 14c., "an overflowing of water, a great flood, Noah's Flood in Genesis," from Old French deluge (12c.), earlier deluve, from Latin diluvium "flood, inundation," from diluere "wash away," from dis- "away" (see dis-) + -luere, combining form of lavere "to wash" (from PIE root
change
c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),
cater
c. 1600, "provide food for," from Middle English catour (n.) "buyer of provisions" (c. 1400; late 13c. as a surname), a shortening of Anglo-French achatour "buyer" (Old North French acatour, Old French achatour, 13c., Modern French acheteur), from Old French achater "to buy,

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