affiler

\a.fi.le\

/\a.fi.le\/ verb

The verdict

“affiler” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Aiguiser le tranchant émoussé ou ébréché d’un instrument, lui donner le fil ou enlever le morfil.

Corpus desk

Index FR-affiler · affiler · French

affiler · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for affiler
PropertyValue
Headwordaffiler
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\a.fi.le\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « affiler » en français

affilersiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

affiler is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \a.fi.le\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for affiler, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is affiler, spelled A-F-F-I-L-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Aiguiser le tranchant émoussé ou ébréché d’un instrument, lui donner le fil ou enlever le morfil.
  2. 2
    Mettre un lingot de métal dans la filière.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how affiler appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Dans son goujet, la corne de vache pleine d’eau pendue à sa ceinture, il avait pris la pierre noire, et il affilait sa faux, d’un long geste rapide.
  2. Et moi, dit l’hôte, […], moi, je vais fourbir ma salade, emmêcher mon arquebuse et affiler ma pertuisane.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "affiler"?
"affiler" is spelled A-F-F-I-L-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \a.fi.le\.
What does "affiler" mean?
As a verb, "affiler" means: Aiguiser le tranchant émoussé ou ébréché d’un instrument, lui donner le fil ou enlever le morfil.
How do you pronounce "affiler"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "affiler" is \a.fi.le\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "affiler" come from?
"affiler" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list