filature

[ fil-uh-cher, -choor ]

/ ˈfɪl ə tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər /

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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.

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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

Words nearby filature

filarial, filariasis, filariid, filasse, filate, filature, filbert, filch, Filchner Ice Shelf, file, file band

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use filature in a sentence

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
The mechanism of the silk filature, as lately improved in France, is very ingenious.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
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

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

British Dictionary definitions for filature

filature

/ (ˈfɪlətʃə) /

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