filature

[fil-uh-cher, -choo r]

noun

the act of forming into threads.
a reel for drawing off silk from cocoons.
the reeling of silk from cocoons.

an establishment for reeling silk.

Origin of filature

1750–60; < French < Medieval Latin fīlātūra the spinning art, equivalent to fīlāt(us) spun (past participle of fīlāre; see filament) + -ūra -ure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for filature

Historical Examples of filature

Filature, fil′a-tūr, n. the reeling of silk, or the place where it is done.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various
I came into this filature when quite young, and it has taken me years to find out even the little I know now.
The Story of Silk
Sara Ware Bassett
The boys exchanged a smile and passed on into the filature, as the factory where the reeling was done was called.
The Story of Silk
Sara Ware Bassett
The quality of raw silk depends, therefore, very much upon the skill and care bestowed upon its filature.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines
Andrew Ure

British Dictionary definitions for filature

filature

noun

the act or process of spinning silk, etc, into threads
the reel used for this
a place where such spinning or reeling is done

Word Origin for filature

C18: from Medieval Latin fīlātūra the art of spinning, from fīlāre to spin thread; see filament

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012