alfil

English

Alternative forms

• fil, pil

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish alfil (“chess bishop”).

Noun

alfil (plural alfils)

1. (chess) A fairy chess piece that moves two squares diagonally, leaping over any intermediary pieces.
   • 2010 August 21, G. P. Jelliss, “Simple Chess Variants”, in Mayhematics‎^[1], pages 9, 10:

     In problems with unorthodox pieces the convention is usually followed that they have appeared by promotion of pawns, though this is not sufficient in some cases (e.g. alfils and equihoppers may not be able to get to the required square from the promotion rank). […] The earliest known example of a partial rider is the Talia (meaning scout) which occurs in the Great Chess of Timur. It is a transition piece between the mediaeval alfil and the modern bishop, able to move like the bishop without being blocked by a pawn standing in front of it.

References

• S. Emmerson, A Glossary of Fairy Chess Definitions

Anagrams

• Filla, flail

Asturian

Noun

alfil m (plural alfiles)

1. (chess) bishop

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əlˈfil]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [alˈfil]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

alfil m (plural alfils)

1. (chess) bishop

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فِيل (fīl, “elephant”) via Andalusian Arabic, from Classical Persian پیل (pīl).

Noun

alfil m (plural alfís)

1. (chess) bishop

Spanish

El alfil solo puede moverse en diagonal. ― The bishop can only move diagonally.

Alternative forms

• arfil (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic الْفِيل (al-fīl, “the elephant”) via Andalusian Arabic, from Classical Persian پیل (pīl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /alˈfil/ [alˈfil]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -il
• Syllabification: al‧fil

Noun

alfil m (plural alfiles)

1. (chess) bishop
   • 1283, Alfonso X the Wise, “Libro del acedrex [Book of Chess]”, in Libro de los juegos [Book of Games], folio 4v:

     Los alffiles an a ſeer fechos a manera de eleffantes ⁊ castiellos en cima dellos llenos de omnes armados como ſi quiſieſſen lidiar.

     Bishops have to be made as of elephants and castles, on top of which full of armed men, as if they wanted to fight.

   • 1858, Gerónimo Borao, “De los alfiles [Of the Bishops]” (chapter 5), in El ajedrez: tratado de sus principios fundamentales [Chess: Treaty of its fundamental principles], Zaragoza: Vicente Andrés, page 44:

     Los alfiles toman nombre del color en donde al principio se asientan, color que conservan hasta el fin […].

     Bishops claim the name of whichever color they land in first, color which is kept until the end.

   • 2023 April, “Leyes Del Ajedrez 2023”, in FIDE‎^[2], pages 4, 5:

     Dos alfiles blancos, representados habitualmente por el símbolo: […] El alfil puede ser movido a cualquier casilla a lo largo de una de las diagonales sobre las que se encuentra.

     Two white bishops, usually represented by the symbol: […] The bishop can be moved to any square along the diagonals upon which it is found.

2. (figurative) close ally
   • 2024 December 30, “Javier Milei prorrogó el presupuesto de 2023 por decreto”, in Diario Río Negro‎^[3]:

     Por su parte, un importante alfil libertario afirmó: “Si acceden a votar el Presupuesto que mandamos, tranquilamente podría tratarse en febrero. Dependerá de los gobernadores”.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• alfil bueno
• alfil malo

Related terms

• marfil

Descendants

• → English: alfil

Further reading

• “alfil”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025