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Origin and history of filter

filter(n.)

early 15c., "piece of felt through which liquid is strained," from Old French feutre "felt, felt hat, carpet" (Modern French filtre) and directly from Medieval Latin filtrum "felt" (used to strain impurities from liquid), from West Germanic *filtiz (from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive"). Figurative use from c. 1600. As a pad of absorbent material attached to a cigarette, from 1908.

filter(v.)

1570s (transitive), from French filtrer or from Medieval Latin filtrare, from filtrum "felt" (see filter (n.)). The figurative sense is from 1830. Intransitive use from 1798. Related: Filtered; filtering.

also from 1570s

Entries linking to filter

felt(n.)

unwoven fabric matted together by rolling or beating while wet, Old English felt "felt," from West Germanic *feltaz "something beaten, compressed wool" (source also of Old Saxon filt, Middle Dutch vilt, Old High German filz, German Filz, Danish filt), from Proto-Germanic *felt- "to beat," from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive," with a sense of "beating." Compare filter (n.). Felt-tipped pen (or -tip) is from 1953.

filtrate(v.)

1610s, probably a back-formation from filtration or else from Medieval Latin filtratus, from filtrum "felt" (see filter (n.)). Related: Filtrated; filtrating. As a noun, "liquid which has passed through a filter," by 1840.

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Trends of filter

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

More to explore

trickle
late 14c., intransitive, of uncertain origin, possibly a shortened variant of stricklen "to trickle," a frequentative form of striken "to flow, move" (see strike (v.)). Transitive sense from c. 1600. Related: Trickled; trickling. Trickle-down as an adjectival phrase in an economi
strain
c. 1300, streinen, "tie, bind, fasten, gird;" early 14c., "confine, restrain" (a body part, animal, etc.), senses now obsolete, from present-participle stem of Old French estreindre "bind tightly, clasp, squeeze," from Latin stringere (2) "draw tight, bind tight, compress, press
portcullis
) "to lead, pass over") + coleice "sliding, flowing," fem. of coleis, from Latin colatus, past participle of colare "to filter...
leach
"wash or drain by percolation of water, treat by downward drainage," by 1660s in cookery, perhaps from a dialectal survival from Old English leccan "to moisten, water, wet, irrigate," which, under Norse influence, became leak (v.). The word was used 18c. in technological senses,
restrain
mid-14c., restreinen, "to stop, prevent, curb" (a vice, purpose, appetite, desire), from stem of Old French restraindre, restreindre "to press, push together; curb, bridle; bandage" (12c.), from Latin restringere "draw back tightly, tie back; confine, check" (see restriction). Fr
urn
late 14c., "large, rounded vase used to preserve the ashes of the dead," from Latin urna "a jar, vessel of baked clay, water-jar; vessel for the ashes of the dead" (also used as a ballot box and for drawing lots), probably from earlier *urc-na, akin to urceus "pitcher, jug," and
run
Old English, "move swiftly by using the legs, go on legs more rapidly than walking," also "make haste, hurry; be active, pursue or follow a course," and, of inanimate things, "to move over a course." The modern verb is a merger of two related Old English words, in both of which t
flow
Old English flowan "to flow, stream, issue; become liquid, melt; abound, overflow" (class VII strong verb; past tense fleow, past participle flowen), from Proto-Germanic *flowan "to flow" (source also of Middle Dutch vloyen, Dutch vloeien, vloeijen "to flow," Old Norse floa "to d
wolf
Old English wulf "wolf, wolfish person, devil," from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz (source also of Old Saxon wulf, Old Norse ulfr, Old Frisian, Dutch, Old High German, German wolf, Gothic wulfs), from PIE root *wlkwo- "wolf" (source also of Sanskrit vrkas, Avestan vehrka-; Albanian ul'k
fowl
Old English fugel "bird, feathered vertebrate," from Proto-Germanic *fuglaz, the general Germanic word for "bird" (source also of Old Saxon fugal, Old Frisian fugel, Old Norse fugl, Middle Dutch voghel, Dutch vogel, German vogel, Gothic fugls "a fowl, a bird"), perhaps a dissimil

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