filial
/ˈfɪl.i.əl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.64 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pertaining to or befitting a son or daughter.
adj
Of a generation or generations descending from a specific previous one.
Example Sentences
- "The filial duty Ellesmere had paid to a father, who had no other claim to it than that he was his father, was now consoling to him [D'Alonville]; […]"
- "The plot revolves around an aimless and unemployed young man, M, whose sole ambition is to livestream his online games. He volunteers to take care of his maternal grandmother after he finds out she has Stage 4 cancer. His motivation is not filial piety; instead, he hopes that he can inherit her house."
- "If the admonition [to the parent] does not take effect, the son will be more reverential and more filial; […]"
- "This, following Bateson, we may call the parental generation or P generation. Subsequent generations are called filial generations (abbreviated F) and their numerical order is indicated by a subscript, as first filial (F₁), second filial (F₂), etc."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁ilyós Proto-Italic *θīlios Proto-Italic *fīlios Latin fīlius Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin fīliālisder. Middle English filial English filial From Middle English filial, from Latin fīliālis, from fīlius (“son”) / fīlia (“daughter”) + -al.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: filial, fīliālis
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈfɪl.i.əl/
- British English: /ˈfɪl.i.əl/
Inflected Forms
more filial (comparative)
most filial (superlative)