Fil"let (?), n. [OE. filet, felet, fr. OF. filet thread, fillet of
meat, dim. of fil a thread, fr. L. filum. See Fille a row.] 1. A little
band, especially one intended to encircle the hair of the head.
A belt her waist, a fillet binds her hair.
Pope.
2. (Cooking) A piece of lean meat without bone; sometimes, a long strip
rolled together and tied.
A fillet of beef is the under side of the sirlom; also called
tenderloin. A fillet of veal or mutton is the fleshy part of the thigh.
A fillet of fish is a slice of flat fish without bone. "Fillet of a
fenny snake." Shak.
3. A thin strip or ribbon; esp.: (a) A strip of metal from which coins
are punched. (b) A strip of card clothing. (c) A thin projecting band
or strip.
4. (Mach.) A concave filling in of a reÎntrant angle where two surfaces
meet, forming a rounded corner.
5. (Arch.) A narrow flat member; especially, a flat molding separating
other moldings; a reglet; also, the space between two flutings in a
shaft. See Illust. of Base, and Column.
6. (Her.) An ordinary equaling in breadth one fourth of the chief, to
the lowest portion of which it corresponds in position.