fill

Etymology 1

table From Middle English fillen, fullen, from Old English fyllan (“to fill, fill up, replenish, satisfy; complete, fulfill”), from Proto-West Germanic *fullijan, from Proto-Germanic *fullijaną (“to make full, fill”), from *fullaz (“full”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Cognate with Scots fill (“to fill”), West Frisian folje (“to fill”), Low German füllen (“to fill”), Dutch vullen (“to fill”), German füllen (“to fill”), Danish fylde (“to fill”), Swedish fylla (“to fill”), Norwegian fylle (“to fill”), Icelandic fylla (“to fill”) and Latin plenus (“full”)

verb

1. (transitive) To occupy fully, to take up all of.
   […]the drums began to thunder, the sound of trumpets filled the air, the earth trembled beneath their feet, and the hearts of the gazing multitude throbbed with suspense and expectation[…] c. 1761, Tobias Smollett, transl., Don Quixote, part 2, book 5, chapter 4
2. (transitive) To add contents to (a container, cavity, or the like) so that it is full.
   My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 3, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   She continued to frown as she filled Bony's cup and added brandy to her own. 1950, Arthur W. Upfield, chapter 11, in The Bachelors of Broken Hill
   She forgave him the pain as he filled the cavity in her back molar. Three weeks later, she let him fill a more intimate cavity. 2005, Wendy Coakley-Thompson, What You Won't Do for Love, published 2006, page 10
   Grat Herendeen was the first man, a huge man with his bull whip coiled and over his shoulder seeming almost a part of him. He grinned at her as she filled his plate with the eggs and motioned toward the bacon. "Help yourself, Grat." 2006, Gilbert Morris, Sante Fe Woman, B&H, page 95
3. To enter (something), making it full.
   In the evening of the 14th of July, there was a rainfall of 3 or 3½ inches in that locality. The water filled the ditch so full that it overflowed the levees on both sides in many places […] . 1910 May 13, John C. Sherwin, opinion, Delashmutt et al. v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. et al., reprinted in volume 126, North Western Reporter, page 359, at 360
   As the crowd filled the aisles, S repeated loudly what he had announced upon entering the stadium: 'I don't want anyone to touch me, and I will call the police if anyone does.' 2004, Peter Westen, The Logic of Consent, Ashgate, page 322
4. (intransitive) To become full.
   the bucket filled with rain; the sails fill with wind
5. (intransitive) To become pervaded with something.
   My heart filled with joy.
6. (transitive) To satisfy or obey (an order, request, or requirement).
   The pharmacist filled my prescription for penicillin.
   We can't let the library close! It fills a great need in the community.
7. (transitive) To install someone, or be installed, in (a position or office), eliminating a vacancy.
   The board of supervisors called a specal election to fill the office, and at such special election Henry C. Andrews was elected judge of probate to fill out the said term. 1891 January 23, Allen Morse, opinion, Lawrence v. Hanley, reprinted in volume 47, Northwestern Reporter, page 753, at 755
   Sorry, no more applicants. The position has been filled.
8. (transitive) To treat (a tooth) by adding a dental filling to it.
   Be that as it may, had the disturbance continued after our having filled the molar, and presuming that nothing had been done to the bicuspid, we might have been still as far as ever from knowing where the trouble lay. a. 1891, "Intimate Diagnosis of Diseased Teeth", in Items of Interest: A Monthly Magazine of Dental Art, Science and Literature, volume 13, number 11, November 1891, page 657 http://google.com/books?id=eS21AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA657&dq=%22filled+the+molar%22
   Dr. Smith filled Jim's cavity with silver amalgam.
9. (transitive) To fill or supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy.
10. (transitive, nautical) To trim (a yard) so that the wind blows on the after side of the sails.
11. (transitive, slang, vulgar, of a male) To have sexual intercourse with (a female).
    Did you fill that girl last night?

Etymology 2

table From Middle English fille, vülle, fülle, from Old English fyllu, from Proto-West Germanic *fullī, from Proto-Germanic *fullį̄ (“fullness”). Cognate with German Fülle.

noun

1. (after a possessive) A sufficient or more than sufficient amount.
   Don't feed him any more: he's had his fill.
   Then they set somewhat of food before me, whereof I ate my fill, and gave me somewhat of clothes wherewith I clad myself anew and covered my nakedness; after which they took me up into the ship, […] 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night
2. An amount that fills a container.
   The mixer returned to the plant for another fill.
3. The filling of a container or area.
   That machine can do 20 fills a minute.
   This paint program supports lines, circles, and textured fills.
4. Inexpensive material used to occupy empty spaces, especially in construction.
   The ruins of earlier buildings were used as fill for more recent construction.
5. (archaeology) Soil and/or human-created debris discovered within a cavity or cut in the layers and exposed by excavation; fill soil.
6. An embankment, as in railroad construction, to fill a hollow or ravine; also, the place which is to be filled.
7. (music) A short passage, riff, or rhythmic sound that helps to keep the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody.
   The second part of recomposed Embroidering Golden Banner achieves the brightness and cheerfulness of music, and presents a cheerful passion through sanda playing methods such as left-hind octave fills, right-hand echo decoration, and encircled decoration. 2015, Dawei Zheng, Control, Mechatronics and Automation Technology
   bass fill

Etymology 3

See thill.

noun

1. One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.
   It was a challenge to learn to harness him, guide him slowly back between the fills of the carriage, then to fasten the right buckles and snaps, making the harness and buggy all ready for travel to church or to town. 2008, Martha E. Green, Pioneers in Pith Helmets