DictionaryRoot: -et
Old French
-et
small or lesser
Forms
- -et
- -ette — The corresponding feminine French form.
Origin
An Old French ending for smallness, continuing earlier Romance formations.
Note
Smallness can suggest affection or lesser importance, but those tones depend on the word.
15 / 35
noun / verb
filet
fih-LAY/fɪˈleɪ/
A boneless cut of meat or fish, or preparing such a cut.
Etymology
The pieces mean “little thread,” also used for a narrow strip or band. The meat sense apparently arose because the cut was prepared by tying it with string.
Related word entries
- baronet
- blanket
- bouquetDistinctive scent
- bouquetFlower arrangement
- bracelet
- brevet
- closet
- cornet
- coronet
- corset
- crotchet
- doubletMatching pair
- doubletHistorical jacket
- dulcet
- filet
- fillet
- gibbet
- gobbet
- goblet
- gullet
- jacketOuter garment
- jacketOfficial file
- locket
- mallet
- millet
- motet
- packet
- pallet
- parquetMain-floor theater seating
- parquetPatterned wood flooring
- plummetMeasuring weight
- plummetRapid fall
- russet
- signet
- socket