filly C2 Topic:Animals US /ˈfɪli/ UK /ˈfɪli/ See IPA manual Freq #20477 Meanings 1 noun a young female horse, especially one below the age at which it is called a mare The chestnut filly stayed close to her mother in the pasture. 2 noun dated and often offensive: a young woman, especially when spoken of as attractive The novel's narrator repeatedly calls young women fillies, a usage now considered demeaning. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a young female horse,... female foalyoung mare ↔ Opposites colt Word family Forms fillies Derived forms fillock Related forms foalmarecolthorse Etymology From Old Norse fylja, 'young female horse,' related to foal. The later slang use for a young woman transfers an animal term to a person and is now generally dated and objectifying. Topics Animals External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # filly **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈfɪli/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈfɪli/ **Frequency rank:** 20477 ## Meanings 1. a young female horse, especially one below the age at which it is called a mare 2. dated and often offensive: a young woman, especially when spoken of as attractive ## Examples - The chestnut filly stayed close to her mother in the pasture. - The novel's narrator repeatedly calls young women fillies, a usage now considered demeaning. ## Synonyms - female foal - young mare ## Antonyms - colt ## Derived Forms - fillock ## Related Forms - foal - mare - colt - horse ## Etymology From Old Norse fylja, 'young female horse,' related to foal. The later slang use for a young woman transfers an animal term to a person and is now generally dated and objectifying. ## Topics - Animals markdown