hilo

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

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

hiló

1. poison

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

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

hílo

1. thread, yarn, string

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

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

hílo (Basahan spelling ᜑᜒᜎᜓ) (Naga)

1. poison

   Synonyms: hudong, lason

2. toxin

   Synonym: rara

Inherited from Spanish hilo (“thread”).

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

hilo

1. thread

From Proto-Eastern-Oceanic *pilos “to twist cords on one's thigh to make rope” – compare with Māori whiro and whirowhiro, Tongan filo^[1]

hilo

1. to twist

• Hilo

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

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

hilo

1. thread; silk; twine; filament

Compare Central Bikol hilo, Cebuano hilo and Tagalog hilo.

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

hilô

1. poison; venom

hīlō

1. dative/ablative singular of hīlum

Borrowed from Latin hīlum.

• Hyphenation: hi‧lo

hilo m (plural hilos)

1. (botany) hilum

• “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

• IPA^(key): /ˈilo/ [ˈi.lo]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ilo
• Syllabification: hi‧lo

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).^[1] Cognate with English file.

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

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

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

hilo

1. first-person singular present indicative of hilar

• “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

hilo

1. ji class_(V) inflected form of hiyo

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.

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

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 of fish by introducing a substance into the water
5. (obsolete) poisoning of anything in order to kill

hiló (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜒᜎᜓ)

1. dizzy; lightheaded

   Near-synonym: lula

2. confused

   Synonym: lito

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.

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

hilo (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜒᜎᜓ) (obsolete)

1. alternative form of ilo

• “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

• liho