hilo

See also: Hilo, hiló, and hilo-

Cebuano

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *hilu. Compare Central Bikol hilo.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: hi‧lo
• IPA^(key): /hiˈlo/ [hɪˈl̪o]

Noun

hiló

1. poison

Derived terms

• hiluan
• maghilo
• makahilo
• manghilo
• mohilo

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish hilo (“thread, yarn”), from Latin filum.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: hi‧lo
• IPA^(key): /ˈhilo/ [ˈhi.l̪o]

Noun

hílo

1. thread, yarn, string

Central Bikol

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *hilu. Compare Central Bikol hilo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhilo/ [ˈhi.l̪o]
• IPA^(key): /ˈʔilo/ [ˈʔi.l̪o] (h-dropping)
• Hyphenation: hi‧lo
• Homophone: ilo

Noun

hílo (Basahan spelling ᜑᜒᜎᜓ) (Naga)

1. poison

   Synonyms: hudong, lason

2. toxin

   Synonym: rara

Derived terms

• hilohon
• maghilo
• mahilo
• makahilo

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish hilo (“thread”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈilo/, [ˈi.lo]
• Hyphenation: hi‧lo

Noun

hilo

1. thread

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Eastern-Oceanic *pilos “to twist cords on one's thigh to make rope” – compare with Māori whiro and whirowhiro, Tongan filo

Verb

hilo

1. to twist

Derived terms

• Hilo

Kapampangan

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish hilo (“thread, yarn”), from Latin filum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhilo/ [ˈiː.lo]
• Hyphenation: hi‧lo

Noun

hilo

1. thread; silk; twine; filament

Etymology 2

Compare Central Bikol hilo, Cebuano hilo and Tagalog hilo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɪˈloʔ/ [ɪˈloʔ]
• Hyphenation: hi‧lo

Noun

hilô

1. poison; venom

Latin

Noun

hīlō

1. dative/ablative singular of hīlum

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin hīlum.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈi.lu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈi.lu/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈi.lo/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈi.lu/

• Hyphenation: hi‧lo

Noun

hilo m (plural hilos)

1. (botany) hilum

Further reading

• “hilo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “hilo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈilo/ [ˈi.lo]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ilo
• Syllabification: hi‧lo

Etymology 1

From Old Spanish filo, from Latin fīlum. Doublet of filo. Although both were inherited, it is not fully certain why the two diverged and why filo, preserving the initial -f- from Old Spanish, took on the sense of “edge”, while hilo maintained that of “string, thread” (in line with the original Latin meaning). Cognate with English file.

Noun

hilo m (plural hilos)

1. thread, yarn, string
   • 1974, “Instituciones”, in Pequeñas anécdotas sobre las instituciones, performed by Sui Generis:

     Los magos, los acróbatas, los clowns / Mueven los hilos con habilidad

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. linen

   Synonym: lino

3. edge of something sharp
4. crosshair, reticule

   Synonym: retículo

5. (zoology) ellipsis of hilo de oro, type of stinging jellyfish in Guanacaste, Costa Rica
6. (Internet) thread (series of messages)
7. helix

   Synonym: hélice

Derived terms

• al hilo
• al hilo de
• con un hilo de voz
• de hilo
• de un hilo
• el hilo se corta por lo más delgado
• hilar
• hilo a hilo
• hilo cárpico
• hilo conductor
• hilo de acarreto
• hilo de carreta
• hilo de conejo
• hilo de palomar
• hilo de perlas
• hilo de tierra
• hilo de uvas
• hilo de velas
• hilo de voz
• hilo dental
• hilván
• madera de hilo
• papel de hilo
• pender de un hilo
• perder el hilo
• quebrar el hilo
• telégrafo sin hilos

Related terms

• ahilar
• filo
• hila
• trefilar

Descendants

• → Cebuano: hilo
• → Kapampangan: hilo
• → Tagalog: ilo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

hilo

1. first-person singular present indicative of hilar

Further reading

• “hilo”, 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

Swahili

Adjective

hilo

1. ji class_(V) inflected form of hiyo

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *hilu (“poison”). Compare Central Bikol hilo and Cebuano hilo.

Alternatively, from Spanish giro (“to spin”) according to Cuadrado Muñiz (1972). This seems unlikely, however, as the word was already attested during the Early Modern Spanish period, where the expected word would be *silo because ⟨g⟩ usually becomes /s/ in Tagalog. See also hiro.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈhilo/ [ˈhiː.lo] (noun)
    • Rhymes: -ilo
  • IPA^(key): /hiˈlo/ [hɪˈlo] (adjective)
    • Rhymes: -o
• Syllabification: hi‧lo

Noun

hilo (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜒᜎᜓ)

1. dizziness; lightheadedness

   Synonyms: liyo, pagkahilo, pagkaliyo

   Near-synonym: lula

2. (obsolete) a dazed state from intoxication from having eaten something bad
3. (figurative, obsolete) daze, addled state caused by excessive talking
4. (obsolete) intoxication or stuperfaction of fish by introducing a substance into the water
5. (obsolete) poisoning of anything in order to kill

Derived terms

• hiluhin
• kahiluhan
• mahilo
• mahiluhin
• makahilo
• pagkahilo
• pampahilo

See also

• lason
• salahilo

Adjective

hiló (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜒᜎᜓ)

1. dizzy; lightheaded

   Near-synonym: lula

2. confused

   Synonym: lito

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-der.

Proto-Italic *fī(s)lom

Latin fīlum

Old Spanish filo

Early Modern Spanish hilobor.

Tagalog hilo

Borrowed from Early Modern Spanish hilo, from Old Spanish filo, from Latin fīlum, from Proto-Italic *fī(s)lom, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-. Doublet of ilo and pilo.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈhilo/ [ˈhiː.lo]
• Rhymes: -ilo
• Syllabification: hi‧lo

Noun

hilo (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜒᜎᜓ) (obsolete)

1. alternative form of ilo

Further reading

• “hilo”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*hilu”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI
• Noceda, Fr. Juan José de; Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860), Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves, y coordinado por…, ultimamente aumentado y corregido por varios religiosos de la Orden de Agustinos calzados.‎^[3] (overall work in Spanish and Classical Tagalog), Manila: Ramírez y Giraudier.
• Santos, Fr. Domingo de los (1835), Vocabulario de la lengua Tagala, primera y segunda parte. En la primera, se pone primero el Castellano, y despues el Tagalo. Y en la segunda al contrario, que son las raíces simples con sus acentos.‎^[4] (overall work in Spanish and Classical Tagalog), Manila: La Imprenta nueva de D. José María Dayot, por Tomás Oliva.
• San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613), Vocabulario de lengua tagala. El romance castellano puesto primero. Primera, y segunda parte.‎^[5] (overall work in Early Modern Spanish and Classical Tagalog), as directed by Gov. Gen. Juan de Silva, Pila, Laguna: La noble Villa de Pila, por Tomás Pinpin y Domingo Loag.
  • page 93: “Atronado) Hilo (pp) eſtar de auer comido algo, v de auer hablado mucho”
  • page 267: “Emborrachar) Hilo (pp) al peſcado hechando algo en el agua”
  • page 272: “Enponçoñar) Hilo (pp) qualquier coſa ꝑa matar”
  • page 352: “Hilo) Helo (pp) C. de caſtilla, cahelohã, vna hebra de hilo”
  • page 579: “Tonto) Hilo (pp) del buyo mora, o otra coſa”
  • page 581: “Toſigo) Hilo (pp) de auer comido coſas malas en particular los camotes que llaman gabi crudos”
• Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 303

Anagrams

• liho