n. & v.
n. 1 a line of persons or things one behind another. 2 (foll. by of) Mil. a small detachment of men (now usu. two). 3 Chess a line of squares from player to player (cf. RANK(1)).
v.intr. walk in a file. file off (or away) Mil. go off by files.
[ F file f. LL filare spin or L filum thread ]