filial

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
9
Words With Friends
11
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/ˈfɪl.i.əl/ (UK)
See all 3 pronunciations
/ˈfɪl.i.əl/ (UK) · /ˈfɪl.jəl/ (UK) · /ˈfi.li.əl/ (US)

Definition of filial

3 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. (not-comparable)Pertaining to or befitting a son or daughter.
    “The filial duty Ellesmere had paid to a father, who had no other claim to it than that he was his father, was now consoling to him [D'Alonville]; […]”
    “The plot revolves around an aimless and unemployed young man, M, whose sole ambition is to livestream his online games. He volunteers to take care of his maternal grandmother after he finds out she has Stage 4 cancer. His motivation is not filial piety; instead, he hopes that he can inherit her house.”
See all 3 definitions

adj

  1. (not-comparable)Pertaining to or befitting a son or daughter.
    “The filial duty Ellesmere had paid to a father, who had no other claim to it than that he was his father, was now consoling to him [D'Alonville]; […]”
    “The plot revolves around an aimless and unemployed young man, M, whose sole ambition is to livestream his online games. He volunteers to take care of his maternal grandmother after he finds out she has Stage 4 cancer. His motivation is not filial piety; instead, he hopes that he can inherit her house.”
  2. (comparable)Respectful of the duties and attitudes of sons or daughters toward their parents.
    “If the admonition [to the parent] does not take effect, the son will be more reverential and more filial; […]”
  3. Of a generation or generations descending from a specific previous one.
    “This, following Bateson, we may call the parental generation or P generation. Subsequent generations are called filial generations (abbreviated F) and their numerical order is indicated by a subscript, as first filial (F₁), second filial (F₂), etc.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Middle English filial, from Latin fīliālis, from filius (“son”) / filia (“daughter”) + -al.

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