A sonne. Filij. Children, sonnes and daughters. Efsigies probitatis paternæ, filius. Cic. Familiarum silij. Tacit. The mans sonnes of the house. Filius familiâs. Cic. Idem. Fratris filius. Teren. A brothers sonne. Filius blandus. Cic. Infans filius. Inuen. Iustus filius, pro Vero. Iuriscons. A lawfull sonne. Minor filius. Terent. The yonger sonne. Adoptare filium, siue pro filio. Plaut. Filios velliberos amittere vel perdere. Cic. Cohibere filium. Plaut. To keepe vnder: to bridle. Commendare filios tutelæ populi. Cic. Educare filium. Quint. Eniti filios. Quint To bring forth children. Pietate filius, consilijs parens, amore frater in me inuentus est. Cic. Probum filium ex patre improbo nasci. Cic. Orbatus filio, Vide ORBVS. Loco filij per ætatem esse. Cic. Filij, etiam in brutis & rebusinanimatis dicuntur. Colum. Coltes: whelpes: the yonge of any beast. Fortunæ filins. Hora. A fortunate man: one of fortunes darlings. Terræ filij. Cic. A base person of vnknowne birth. Also a gentleman of the first head: a newe begoune gentleman.

A threade. A line: the proportion or draught of a thing: the fashion of countenaunce, of stature. Improba fila. Martial. Pendula. Claud. Tenuia fila aranei. Lucr. Deducere fila. Plin. Ouid. To spinne: to drawe out threads in spinning. Deducit aranea filum pede. Ouid. The spider spinneth. Deducere filum pollice. Ouid. To spinne. Canis frondes intexere filis. Ouid. Legere fila. Virg. To folde vp threade in a bottome. Sonantia fila mouere. Ouid. To strike the strings of an instrmnent. Incœpta fila relinquit. Ouid. Shee leaueth: hir threades vnperfite. Traijcere filum in acu. Cels. To thredde a needle. Filum. Varro. A line: a strike. Filum. Gel. The proportion of ones visage. Ex totius corporis filo atque habitu. By the proportion and state of. Gell. Pari filo esse & simili figura. Lucr. Of like proportion and figure. Subtili prædita filo. Lucr. Filum orationis, pro stylo, & dicendiforma, ac compositione ipsius orationis. Cic. The stile and maner of writing: his maner of inditing. Crassum orationis filum. Cic. An homely stile not curiously penned. Tenue argumentandi filum. Cic. Tenui deducta poemara filo. Horat. Verses made in a lowe stile.

I. Lit.

A. In gen.: Marci filius, Enn. ap. Cic. Brut. 15, 58 (Ann. v. 306 Vahl.); id. Rep. 2, 19; id. Lael. 1, 3: Venus et remisso filius arcu, i. e. Cupido, Hor. C. 3, 27, 68 et saep. —

B. In partic.: filius familias, or, in one word, filiusfamilias, v. familia.—

II. Transf.

A. With terra, fortuna, etc.: terrae filius, a son of mother earth, i. e. a man of unknown origin (opp.: nobilis, honesto genere natus): et huic terrae filio nescio cui committere epistolam tantis de rebus non audeo, Cic. Att. 1, 13, 4; id. Fam. 7, 9, 3; Pers. 6, 59; cf.: Saturnum Caeli filium dictum, quod soleamus eos, quorum virtutem miremur aut repentino advenerint, decaelo cecidisse dicere: terrae autem, quos ignotis parentibus natos terrae filios nominemus, Lact. 1, 11: fortunae filius, a child of fortune, fortune's favorite (Gr. pai=s th=s *tu/xhs), Hor. S. 2, 6, 49; called also: gallinae albae filius, Juv. 13, 141: Celtiberiae filius, i. e. an inhabitant of Celtiberia, a Celtiberian, Cat. 37, 18.—

B. Filii, in gen., children: *sunezeugme/non jungit et diversos sexus, ut cum marem feminamque filios dicimus, Quint. 9, 3, 63; Cic. ad Brut. 1, 12, 2; Gell. 12, 1, 21; cf. sing.: ut condemnaretur filius aut nepos, si pater aut avus deliquisset, Cic. N. D. 3, 38, 90.—

2. Descendants: natura docet parentes pios, filiorum appellatione omnes, quiex nobis descendunt, contineri: nec enim dulciore nomine possumus nepotes nostros, quam filii, appellare, Dig. 50, 16, 220, 3.—

C. Of animals, Col. 6, 37, 4.

I. Lit., Varr. L. L. 5, 113 Müll.; Enn. ap. Non. 116, 6 (Ann. v. 259 ed. Vahl.); Verg. A. 6, 30; Ov. A. A. 3, 445; id. M. 4, 36; Mart. 6, 3, 5; Cels. 7, 16: lumen candelae cujus tempero filum, wick, Juv. 3, 287: tenuia aranei, a web, Lucr. 3, 383: tineae, Ov. M. 15, 372.—Poet., of the thread of life spun by the Fates: sororum fila trium, Hor. C. 2, 3, 16; Verg. A. 10, 815; Ov. M. 2, 654; id. Tr. 5, 10, 45; Sil. 4, 28; Mart. 10, 5, 10 al.— Prov.: pendere filo (tenui), to hang by a thread, for to be in great danger: hac noctu filo pendebit Etruria tota, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 1, 4, 18 (Ann. v. 153 ed. Vahl.): omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo, Ov. P. 4, 3, 35; Val. Max. 6, 4, 1.—

2. In partic., the fillet of wool wound round the upper part of the flamen's cap, similar to the ste/mma of the Greeks; hence, in gen., a priest's fillet: APICVLVM, filum, quo flamines velatum apicem gerunt, Paul. ex Fest. p. 23 Müll.: legatus capite velato filo (lanae velamen est), Audi, Juppiter, inquit, etc., Liv. 1, 32, 6: filo velatus, Tib. 1, 5, 15.—

B. Transf. (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose).

1. Of any thing slender and drawn out like a thread, a string, cord, filament, fibre: tractat inauratae consona fila lyrae, the strings, Ov. Am. 1, 8, 60; so, lyrae, id. M. 5, 118: sonantia, id. ib. 10, 89: croci, i. e. the stamen, id. F. 1, 342: foliorum exilitas usque in fila attenuata, Plin. 21, 6, 16, 30; 11, 15, 15, 39. —

2. Plur., shreds, slices, remnants: fila sectivi porri, Juv. 14, 133: porris fila resecta suis, Mart. 11, 52: fila Tarentini graviter redolentia porri edisti, id. 13, 18.—

3. I. q. crassitudo, the density, compactness, compact shape, or, in gen., contour, form, shape of an object: forma quoque hinc solis debet filumque videri, Lucr. 5, 571, v. Lachm. ad h. 1.; cf. id. 5, 581; 2, 341; 4, 88: mulieris, Plaut. Merc. 4, 4, 15: corporis, Varr. L. L. 10, 4 Müll.; Gell. 1, 9, 2; Amm. 14, 11, 28: forma atque filo virginali, id. 14, 4, 2: ingeniosus est et bono filo, Petr. 46.—

II. Trop. (cf. the preced. no.), of speech, texture, sort, quality, nature, style (class.): ego hospiti veteri et amico munusculum mittere (volui) levidense, crasso filo, cujusmodi ipsius solent esse munera, i. e. of coarse texture, Cic. Fam. 9, 12, 2; cf.: argumentandi tenue filum, id. Or. 36, 124: tenui deducta poëmata filo, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 225; cf.: gracili connectere carmina filo, Col. poët. 10, 227: paulo uberiore filo, Cic. de Or. 2, 22, 93: orationis, id. ib. 3, 26, 103: aliud quoddam filum orationis tuae (= oratio uberior), id. Lael. 7, 25.