Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

filly

/ˈfɪli/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.15 in modern English

Syllables: fil-ly
IPA: /ˈfɪli/

11

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A young female horse.

noun

A young, attractive woman.

Dated

Example Sentences

"Hey, Homer, get a load of the gams on that filly!"
"Betty Lou began to think of Bobby Jo. That feisty filly still brought up sexual connotations, even though the two had been going together for almost three weeks now."

Etymology

From Old Norse fylja (whence Danish føl), related to foal. Cognate with Dutch veulen, German Fohlen.

Origin

Source language: Old Norse

Word Breakdown

Root: *peh₂w-, fylja

Usage

Dated

Inflected Forms

fillies (plural)

Derived Forms

fillock

Frequently Paired Words

colt mare stallion gelding fille

Homonyms

Philly

Rhymes With

really silly billy chile lily willie chili philly willy lilly chilly billie

Questions

How do you pronounce filly?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfɪli/.
What does filly mean?: A young female horse.
Where does filly come from?: It is traced to Old Norse.

How to pronounce filly

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “filly”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfɪli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “filly”.
Repeat and practice — Say “filly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.