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Like flip and flick, fillip is considered a phonetic imitation of the sharp release of a curled-up finger aimed to strike something. Language history suggests that people were filliping in the 15th-century, well before they were flipping and flicking. Specifically, fillip describes a strike or gesture made by the sudden straightening of a finger curled up against the thumb—a motion commonly referred to as a flick. It didn't take long before the sensational stinging smartness of filliping was extended to figurative use. "I mark this in our old Mogul's wine; it's quite as deadening to some as filliping to others," observes Herman Melville's Dutch sailor of wine's "stimulating" effect in Moby Dick.
Examples of fillip in a Sentence
Air Mail, 14 June 2025
Great powers throughout history have often found that rivals can act as a productive fillip to friends.
—A. Wess Mitchell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
As discussed in this previous column, that performance in Bergamo gives hope that Thiago Motta is on the right track, but the arrival of a new face to strengthen the backline may well be an even greater fillip.
—Adam Digby, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
That pace of deal news is a fillip for the investment banks.
—Kelly Evans, CNBC, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fillip
Cite this Entry
“Fillip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fillip. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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