Definition: file
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
file
n 1: a set of related records (either written or electronic) kept
together [syn: data file]
2: a line of persons or things ranged one behind the other
[syn: single file, Indian file]
3: office furniture consisting of a container for keeping
papers in order [syn: file cabinet, filing cabinet]
4: a steel hand tool with small sharp teeth on some or all of
its surfaces; used for smoothing wood or metal
v 1: register in a public office or in a court of law; "file for
divorce"; "file a complaint" [syn: register]
2: smooth with a file; "file one's fingernails"
3: proceed in file
4: file a formal charge against; "The suspect was charged with
murdering his wife" [syn: charge, lodge]
5: place in a file [syn: file away]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
File \File\ (f[imac]l), n. [F. file row (cf. Pr., Sp., Pg., & It. fila), LL. fila, fr. L. filum a thread. Cf. Enfilade, Filament, Fillet.] 1. An orderly succession; a line; a row; as: (a) (Mil) A row of soldiers ranged one behind another; -- in contradistinction to rank, which designates a row of soldiers standing abreast; a number consisting the depth of a body of troops, which, in the ordinary modern formation, consists of two men, the battalion standing two deep, or in two ranks. Note: The number of files in a company describes its width, as the number of ranks does its depth; thus, 100 men in ``fours deep'' would be spoken of as 25 files in 4 ranks. --Farrow. (b) An orderly collection of papers, arranged in sequence or classified for preservation and reference; as, files of letters or of newspapers; this mail brings English files to the 15th instant. (c) The line, wire, or other contrivance, by which papers are put and kept in order. It is upon a file with the duke's other letters. --Shak. (d) A roll or list. ``A file of all the gentry.'' --Shak.
File \File\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filed; p. pr. & vb. n. Filing.] 1. To set in order; to arrange, or lay away, esp. as papers in a methodical manner for preservation and reverence; to place on file; to insert in its proper place in an arranged body of papers. I would have my several courses and my dishes well filed. --Beau. & Fl. 2. To bring before a court or legislative body by presenting proper papers in a regular way; as, to file a petition or bill. --Burrill. 3. (Law) To put upon the files or among the records of a court; to note on (a paper) the fact date of its reception in court. To file a paper, on the part of a party, is to place it in the official custody of the clerk. To file, on the part of the clerk, is to indorse upon the paper the date of its reception, and retain it in his office, subject to inspection by whomsoever it may concern. --Burrill.
File \File\, v. i. [Cf. F. filer.] (Mil.) To march in a file or line, as soldiers, not abreast, but one after another; -- generally with off. To file with, to follow closely, as one soldier after another in file; to keep pace. My endeavors Have ever come too short of my desires, Yet filed with my abilities. --Shak.
File \File\, n. [AS. fe['o]l; akin to D. viji, OHG. f[=i]la,
f[=i]hala, G. feile, Sw. fil, Dan. fiil, cf. Icel. ??l, Russ.
pila, and Skr. pi? to cut out, adorn; perh. akin to E.
paint.]
1. A steel instrument, having cutting ridges or teeth, made
by indentation with a chisel, used for abrading or
smoothing other substances, as metals, wood, etc.
Note: A file differs from a rasp in having the furrows made
by straight cuts of a chisel, either single or crossed,
while the rasp has coarse, single teeth, raised by the
pyramidal end of a triangular punch.
2. Anything employed to smooth, polish, or rasp, literally or
figuratively.
Mock the nice touches of the critic's file.
--Akenside.
3. A shrewd or artful person. [Slang] --Fielding.
Will is an old file in spite of his smooth face.
--Thackeray.
Bastard file, Cross file, etc. See under Bastard,
Cross, etc.
Cross-cut file, a file having two sets of teeth crossing
obliquely.
File blank, a steel blank shaped and ground ready for
cutting to form a file.
File cutter, a maker of files.
Second-cut file, a file having teeth of a grade next finer
than bastard.
Single-cut file, a file having only one set of parallel
teeth; a float.
Smooth file, a file having teeth so fine as to make an
almost smooth surface.
File \File\, v. t.
1. To rub, smooth, or cut away, with a file; to sharpen with
a file; as, to file a saw or a tooth.
2. To smooth or polish as with a file. --Shak.
File your tongue to a little more courtesy. --Sir W.
Scott.
File \File\, v. t. [OE. fulen, filen, foulen, AS. f?lan, fr. f?l foul. See Foul, and cf. Defile, v. t.] To make foul; to defile. [Obs.] All his hairy breast with blood was filed. --Spenser. For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind. --Shak.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
file <file system> An element of data storage in a file system. The history of computing is rich in varied kinds of files and file systems, whether ornate (e.g., Macintosh file system for a well-known case) or deficient (e.g., many simple pre-1980s file systems don't allow directories). However, the prototypical file has these characteristics: * It is a single sequence of bytes (but consider Macintosh resource forks). * It has a finite length, unlike, e.g. a Unix device. * It is stored in a non-volatile storage medium (but see ramdrive). * It exists (nominally) in a directory. * It has a name that it can be referred to by in file operations, possibly in combination with its path. Additionally, a file system may associate other information with a file, such as permission bits or other file attributes; timestamps for file creation, last revision, and last access; revision numbers (a` la VMS), and other kinds of magic. (1997-04-08)
Source: V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms December 2001
FILE
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