file
Definitions
A collection of documents or data kept together
文件，档案
A set of digital data stored under one name on a computer
（电脑）文件
To place documents in order for storage
把……归档
To formally submit a document to an authority
提交，提起（诉讼、申请等）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Latin fīlum, 'thread.' Medieval clerks strung papers on a string or wire to keep them in order — that 'thread of documents' became a file. The sense ladder: physical bundle → ordered collection → folder of papers → the file on your computer → 'to file' a claim (put it into the official record).
Root fil still carries 8 more wordsWhy It Means This
The thread is the whole story. Because documents were once literally threaded together, 'file' carries the idea of an ordered sequence — which is also why soldiers walk 'in single file,' one behind another as if on a string. From a string of papers we got the office file, then the computer file, then the verb 'to file' a lawsuit or a tax return.
Common Collocations
- 1.save a file保存文件
- 2.file a complaint提出投诉
- 3.file for bankruptcy申请破产
- 4.on file存档
- 5.in single file成单列纵队
Example Sentences
- 1.
Save the file before you close the program.
- 2.
She filed the contracts under the client's name.
- 3.
The company filed for bankruptcy last month.