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filter

Pronunciation: /ˈfɪltə/

The English word “filter” has 13 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from another.
  2. Electronics or software that separates unwanted signals (for example noise) from wanted signals or that attenuates selected frequencies.
  3. Any item, mechanism, device, or procedure that acts to separate or isolate.
  4. Self-restraint in speech.
  5. A non-empty upper set (of a partially ordered set) which is closed under binary infima (a.k.a. meets).
  6. A translucent object placed in the light path of a camera to remove certain wavelengths (colors), or a computer program that simulates such an effect.
  7. An appearance-altering digital image effect.

verb

  1. To sort, sift, or isolate.
  2. To diffuse; to cause to be less concentrated or focused.
  3. To pass through a filter or to act as though passing through a filter.
  4. To move slowly or gradually; to come or go a few at a time.
  5. To ride a motorcycle between lanes on a road
  6. To be discouraged where a connoisseur or hardcore fan would not.

Etymology

From Middle English filtre, from Medieval Latin filtrum (compare also Old French feutre (“felt; filter”)), from Frankish *filtir, from Proto-West Germanic *felt. See felt. Doublet of phin.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.