Etymology From Middle English filet, vylette, felet, filette, flette, from Old French filet, diminutive of fil (“thread”), from Latin fīlum (“thread”).
Archaic A headband; a ribbon or other band used to tie the hair up, or keep a headdress in place, or for decoration.
In secret shadow, farre from all mens sight: From her faire head her fillet she undight, And laid her stole aside.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
A fillet binds her hair.1713, [Alexander] Pope, Windsor-Forest. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:
2 more examples
"Know thy own worth, and reverence the lyre," is a line that should be as a fillet bound round the brow—a philactory embroidered on the garments of every son and daughter of Adam distinguished by the possession of that sacred gift, which, whether used or abused, applauded in itself or derided in its possessor, is the highest and the most inalienable distinction humanity ever has or ever can be gifted with, whether bestowed on the highest or the humblest being, in the great mass to which we all belong.1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 252:
She was talking of Raymond Duncan, a walking absurdity who dressed in an ancient handwoven Greek costume and wore his hair in long braids reaching to his waist, adding, on ceremonial occasions, a fillet of bay-leaves.1970, John Glassco, Memoirs of Montparnasse, Mew York, published 2007, page 42:
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A thin strip of any material, in various technical uses.
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Business, Construction, Manufacturing A heavy bead of waterproofing compound or sealant material generally installed at the point where vertical and horizontal surfaces meet.
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CAD, Computing, Drafting, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A rounded relief or cut at an edge, especially an inside edge, added for a finished appearance and to break sharp edges.
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A strip or compact piece of meat or fish from which any bones and skin and feathers have been removed.
Fillet of a Fenny Snake, / In the Cauldron boyle and bake:c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 143, column 2:
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UK A premium cut of meat, especially beef, taken from below the lower back of the animal, considered to be lean and tender; also called tenderloin.
fillet steak
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Architecture A thin featureless moulding/molding used as separation between broader decorative mouldings.
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Architecture The space between two flutings in a shaft.
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Government, Heraldry, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Monarchy, Nobility, Politics An ordinary equal in breadth to one quarter of the chief, to the lowest portion of which it corresponds in position.
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The thread of a screw.
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A colored or gilded border.
Fairer than gods and naked as the moon, The foamy fillets at their ankles strewn Less marble-white than they1911, George Sterling, The Swimmers:
Etymology From Middle English filet, vylette, felet, filette, flette, from Old French filet, diminutive of fil (“thread”), from Latin fīlum (“thread”).
1
To slice, bone or make into fillets.
2
To apply, create, or specify a rounded or filled corner to.