filly

[fil-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR filly ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural fil·lies.

a young female horse.

Informal. a girl or young woman.

Origin of filly

1400–50; late Middle English fyly < Old Norse fyla female foal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for filly

offspring, filly, colt, mare, stallion, fledgling, sapling, foal, yearling, youngster, rookie, plug, pony, nag, steed, gelding, mustang, bronco, youngling

Examples from the Web for filly

Contemporary Examples of filly

But on May 30, Jackson announced he would not enter his filly, claiming she “deserves a well-earned vacation.”
Can These Two Horses Save Racing?
Sally Denton
June 4, 2009

Historical Examples of filly

So, calling to his wife, the two of them together, tried their skill to catch the filly.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
She kept striking her side—she fancied it was a help to the filly.
Nana, The Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille
Emile Zola
Where his fellow man had withheld, the filly had given her all and questioned not.
Garrison's Finish
W. B. M. Ferguson
How long he stayed there, the filly nuzzling him like a mother, he did not know.
Garrison's Finish
W. B. M. Ferguson
The handlers fell back in silence as Garrison approached the filly.
Garrison's Finish
W. B. M. Ferguson

British Dictionary definitions for filly

filly

noun plural -lies

a female horse or pony under the age of four

informal, rare a spirited girl or young woman

Word Origin for filly

C15: from Old Norse fylja; related to Old High German fulihha; see foal

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

Word Origin and History for filly

c.1400, fyly, possibly from Old Norse fylja, fem. of foli "foal" (see foal (n.)). Slang sense of "young girl" is from 1610s.