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Origin and history of filler

filler(n.)

late 15c., "one who fills," agent noun from fill (v.). Meaning "something used to fill" is from 1590s. Specifically of food products by 1901.

also from late 15c.

Entries linking to filler

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.

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    Trends of filler

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

    More to explore

    makeweight
    also make-weight, 1690s, "small quantity of something added to make the total reach a certain weight," from make (v.) + weight. Meaning "thing or person of little account made use of" is from 1776. MAKE WEIGHT. A small candle: a term applied to a little slender man. [Grose, "Dic
    nonce
    The phrase was used from early 14c. as an empty filler in metrical composition....
    stocking
    As a receptacle for Christmas presents, attested from 1830 in American English; hence stocking-stuffer (1891); stocking-filler...
    like
    The word has been used as a postponed filler ("going really fast, like") from 1778; as a presumed emphatic ("going, like,...
    boilerplate
    1950s, publicity items were cast or stamped in metal ready for the printing press and distributed to country newspapers as filler...
    know
    You know as a parenthetical filler is from 1712, but it has roots in 14c....
    copy
    mid-14c., "written account or record," from Old French copie (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin copia "reproduction, transcript," from Latin copia "an abundance, ample supply, profusion, plenty," from assimilated form of com "with" (see com-) + ops (genitive opis) "power, we
    putty
    1630s, "type of plasterer's fine paste or cement," from French potée "polishing powder" (12c.), originally "pot-full, contents of a pot," from Old French pot "container" (see pot (n.1)). From 1660s as "powder used for polishing glass or metals." The meaning "soft pasty mixture fo
    cigar
    "cylindrical roll of tobacco for smoking," generally pointed at one end and cut at the other, 1730, from Spanish cigarro (source also of French cigare), probably from Maya sicar "to smoke rolled tobacco leaves," from si'c "tobacco;" or from or influenced by Spanish cigarra "grass
    tobacco
    1580s, from Spanish tabaco, in part from an Arawakan language of the Caribbean (probably Taino), said to mean "a roll of tobacco leaves" (according to Las Casas, 1552) or "a kind of pipe for smoking tobacco" (according to Oviedo, 1535). Scholars of Caribbean languages lean toward

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