filmy

American  

[fil-mee] / ˈfɪl mi /

adjective

filmier, filmiest

1. thin and light; fine and gauzy.

   a gown of a filmy material.

2. hazy or misty; glazed.

   filmy eyes.

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filmy British  

/ ˈfɪlmɪ /

adjective

1. composed of or resembling film; transparent or gauzy

2. covered with or as if with a film; hazy; blurred

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Other Word Forms

• filmily
  adverb
• filminess
  noun

Etymology

Origin of filmy

First recorded in 1595–1605; film + -y ¹

Explanation

Something that's filmy is light and translucent. Filmy white curtains are especially pretty when the sun shines through them and they blow in the breeze. The adjective filmy often describes fabric that you can almost see through, like a filmy dress you wear to the prom. A filmy layer of light might rest on the surface of water, and your old dog might have filmy eyes. In all of these examples, the filmy thing is nearly as thin as a film or membrane: the word stems from the Old English filmen, "membrane or thin skin."

Example Sentences

Filmy white curtains often substitute for walls, filtering light and mixing the silhouettes of sculptures and viewers in fleeting tableaus.

From New York Times • Mar. 22, 2018

Filmy crystalline earrings swept back over her bare shoulders.

From The Blind Spot by Hall, Austin

Filmy sleeves floated from her shoulders, leaving the arms bare and unadorned, except for one gold bangle, high up—the latest note from Home.

From Far to Seek A Romance of England and India by Diver, Maud

Filmy and light as fairies' wings, The fading clouds descend, Touching with finger tips the strings While leaves on green boughs bend.

From The Trail of a Sourdough Life in Alaska by Sullivan, May Kellogg

Filmy, desultory thought, in cloudland, counts for little.

From The Scrap Book. Volume 1, No. 2 April 1906 by Various