fillip
Plural: fillips
Noun
- anything that tends to arouse
- "his approval was an added fillip"
- The action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb and then releasing it with a snap; a flick.
- A sharp strike or tap made using this action, or (by extension) by other means.
- Something unimportant, a trifle; also, the brief time it takes to flick one's finger (see noun sense 1); a jiffy.
- Something that excites or stimulates.
Verb
Verb Forms: filliped, filliping, fillips
- To strike or tap lightly, often with a flick of a finger.
- To strike, project, or propel with a fillip (that is, a finger released quickly after being pressed against the thumb); to flick.
- To project quickly; to snap.
- To strike or tap smartly.
- To drive as if by a fillip (noun sense 1); to excite, stimulate, whet.
- To make a fillip (noun sense 1) (with the fingers).
Examples
- A small fillip to the board, like adding an ’S’, can dramatically increase a score.
- The athlete’s victory provided a much-needed fillip for national pride.
- The spicy aroma filliped my appetite.
- This measure gave a fillip to the housing market.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English filippen, philippe (“to flick or snap a finger against the thumb”); further origin uncertain, but probably imitative. See flip. It is not clear whether the verb is derived from the noun, or vice versa.
Synonyms
bonus, animate, awaken, electrify, enflame, enkindle, enthrill, exagitate, excite, exhilarate, exsuscitate, fillip, fire, fire the blood, flick, galvanize, gin up, ignite, inflame, intoxicate, kindle, ping, quicken, rouse, send, set fire to, set on fire, sharpen, stir the blood, suscitate, thrill, vitalise, wake, warm the blood, whet, wind up, work up, yerk
Scrabble Score: 11
fillip: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordfillip: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
fillip: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary