fillip /ˈfɪlɪp/verb 5noun 4forms 5 verb5 •To strike, project, or propel with a fillip (that is, a finger released quickly after being pressed against the thumb); to flick.Mene[laus]. An odde man Lady, euery man is odde. / Cres[sida]. No Paris is not, for you know tis true, / That you are odde and he is euen with you. / Mene. You fillip me a'th head. — 1602 •To project quickly; to snap.Yet he observ'd how still his Iron Balls / Recoyl'd in vain against our Oaken Walls. / How the hard Pellets fell away as dead, / By our inchanted Timber fillipped. — 1697 •To strike or tap smartly.He [Ishi] combed and brushed his hair daily. He washed it frequently, drying it by filliping it and beating it with a small stick as it hung in the sunlight. — 1981 •To make a fillip (with the fingers).As they were drinking after dinner, the prince jocosely dipped his finger in a glass of wine, and fillipped it into Oglethorpe's face. — 1808 •(figurative) To drive as if by a fillip; to excite, stimulate, whet.The spicy aroma filliped my appetite. noun4 •A sharp strike or tap made using this action, or (by extension) by other means. •Something that excites or stimulates.This measure gave a fillip to the housing market.The athlete’s victory provided a much-needed fillip for national pride. •Something unimportant, a trifle; also, the brief time it takes to flick one's finger (see noun sense 1); a jiffy.Eat, drink and love; the rest's not worth a fillip. — 1821 •(no longer used) The action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb and then releasing it with a snap; a flick. formsfilliped · fillipped · filliping · fillipping · fillips
