What is "fill"

Fill \Fill\, n. [See Thill.] One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.
--Mortimer.

Fill horse, a thill horse.
--Shak.

Fill \Fill\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filled; p. pr. & vb. n. Filling.] [OE. fillen, fullen, AS. fyllan, fr. full full; akin to D. vullen, G. f["u]llen, Icel. fylla, Sw. fylla, Dan. fylde, Goth. fulljan. See Full, a.]

1. To make full; to supply with as much as can be held or contained; to put or pour into, till no more can be received; to occupy the whole capacity of.

   The rain also filleth the pools.
   --Ps. lxxxiv. 6.

   Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. Anf they filled them up to the brim.
   --John ii. 7.

2. To furnish an abudant supply to; to furnish with as mush as is desired or desirable; to occupy the whole of; to swarm in or overrun.

   And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas.
   --Gen. i. 22.

   The Syrians filled the country.
   --1 Kings xx. 27.

3. To fill or supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy.

   Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fillso great a multitude?
   --Matt. xv. 33.

   Things that are sweet and fat are more filling.
   --Bacon.

4. To possess and perform the duties of; to officiate in, as an incumbent; to occupy; to hold; as, a king fills a throne; the president fills the office of chief magistrate; the speaker of the House fills the chair.

5. To supply with an incumbent; as, to fill an office or a vacancy.
   --A. Hamilton.

6. (Naut.)

   1. To press and dilate, as a sail; as, the wind filled the sails.

   2. To trim (a yard) so that the wind shall blow on the after side of the sails.

7. (Civil Engineering) To make an embankment in, or raise the level of (a low place), with earth or gravel.

   To fill in, to insert; as, he filled in the figures.

   To fill out, to extend or enlarge to the desired limit; to make complete; as, to fill out a bill.

   To fill up, to make quite full; to fill to the brim or entirely; to occupy completely; to complete. ``The bliss that fills up all the mind.''
   --Pope. ``And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ.''
   --Col. i. 24.

Fill \Fill\, v. i.

1. To become full; to have the whole capacity occupied; to have an abundant supply; to be satiated; as, corn fills well in a warm season; the sail fills with the wind.

2. To fill a cup or glass for drinking.

   Give me some wine; fill full.
   --Shak.

   To back and fill. See under Back, v. i.

   To fill up, to grow or become quite full; as, the channel of the river fills up with sand.

Fill \Fill\, n. [AS. fyllo. See Fill, v. t.]

1. A full supply, as much as supplies want; as much as gives complete satisfaction. ``Ye shall eat your fill.''
   --Lev. xxv. 19.

   I'll bear thee hence, where I may weep my fill.
   --Shak.

2. That which fills; filling; filler; specif., an embankment, as in railroad construction, to fill a hollow or ravine; also, the place which is to be filled.

Old English fyllan "to fill, make full, fill up, replenish, satisfy; complete, fulfill," from Proto-Germanic *fulljan "to fill" (cognates: Old Saxon fulljan, Old Norse fylla, Old Frisian fella, Dutch vullen, German füllen, Gothic fulljan "to fill, make full"), a derivative of adjective *fullaz "full" (see full (adj.)). Related: Filled.\n

\nTo fill the bill (1882) originally was U.S. theatrical slang, in reference to a star of such magnitude his or her name would be the only one on a show's poster. To fill out "write in required matter" is recorded from 1880.

mid-13c., fille, "a full supply," from Old English fyllu "fullness, 'fill,' feast, satiety," from Proto-Germanic *full-ino- "fullness" (cognates: Old High German fulli, German Fülle, Old Norse fyllr), noun of state from *fullaz "full" (see full (adj.)). Meaning "extra material in music" is from 1934.

Etymology 1 vb. 1 (label en transitive) To occupy fully, to take up all of. 2 (label en transitive) To add contents to (a container, cavity(,) or the like) so that it is full. Etymology 2

n. 1 (label en after a possessive) A sufficient or more than sufficient amount. 2 An amount that fills a container. 3 The filling of a container or are

1. 4 Inexpensive material used to occupy empty spaces, especially in construction. 5 (label en archaeology) Soil and/or human-created debris discovered within a cavity 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. Etymology 3

   n. One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.

1. n. a quantity sufficient to satisfy; "he ate his fill of potatoes"; "she had heard her fill of gossip"

2. any material that fills a space or container; "there was not enough fill for the trench" [syn: filling]

1. v. make full, also in a metaphorical sense; "fill a container"; "fill the child with pride" [syn: fill up, make full] [ant: empty]

2. become full; "The pool slowly filled with water"; "The theater filled up slowly" [syn: fill up] [ant: empty]

3. occupy the whole of; "The liquid fills the container" [syn: occupy]

4. assume, as of positions or roles; "She took the job as director of development" [syn: take]

5. fill or meet a want or need [syn: meet, satisfy, fulfill, fulfil]

6. appoint someone to (a position or a job)

7. eat until one is sated; "He filled up on turkey" [syn: fill up]

8. fill to satisfaction; "I am sated" [syn: satiate, sate, replete]

9. plug with a substance; "fill a cavity"

In archaeology a fill is the material that has accumulated or has been deposited into a cut feature such as ditch or pit of some kind of a later date than the feature itself. Fills are an important part of the archaeological record as their formation and composition can throw light on many aspects of archaeological study.

Fill may refer to:

• Fill dirt, soil added to an area
  • Fill (archaeology), the material that has accumulated or has been deposited into a cut feature such as ditch or pit
  • Fill (land), dirt, rock or other material added to level or raise the elevation of a land feature
• Fill character, a character transmitted solely for the purpose of consuming time
• Fill device, an electronic module that loads cryptographic keys into an electronic encryption machine
• Fill (music), a short segment of instrumental music
• In textiles, the filling yarn is the same as weft, the yarn which is shuttled back and forth across the warp to create a woven fabric.
• In finance, a fill is the fulfillment of a part or whole of an order at a given price by a broker or counterparty
• Fill flash, a technique in photography where the flash is used in bright locations to prevent shadows from being underexposed
• Fill light, background lighting used to reduce the contrast of a scene and provide some illumination for the areas of the image that would otherwise be in shadow
• Flood fill or Fill pattern, the color, pattern, or texture that fills an area in graphic design
• Matter that is contained in a pillow, cushion, quilt, etc., or used to protect items in a package; it may have more specific names, e.g., fiberfil, foamfill, etc., some being tradenames or brands
• Fill power, a measure of the loft or "fluffiness" of a down product that is loosely related to the insulating value of the down

In popular music, a fill is a short musical passage, riff, or rhythmic sound which helps to sustain the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody. "The terms riff and fill are sometimes used interchangeably by musicians, but [while] the term riff usually refers to an exact musical phrase repeated throughout a song", a fill is an improvised phrase played during a section where nothing else is happening in the music. While riffs are repeated, fills tend to be varied over the course of a song. For example, a drummer may fill in the end of one phrase with a sixteenth note hi-hat pattern, and then fill in the end of the next phrase with a snare drum figure. In drumming, a fill is defined as a "short break in the groove--a lick that 'fills in the gaps' of the music and/or signals the end of a phrase. It's kind of like a mini- solo." A fill may be played by rock or pop instruments such as the electric lead guitar or bass, organ, or drums, or by other instruments such as strings or horns. In blues or swing-style scat singing, a fill may even be sung. In a hip-hop group, a fill may consist of rhythmic turntable scratching performed by a DJ.

"Fills can vary as to style, length, and dynamics...[though] most fills are simple in structure and short in duration" Each type of popular music such as funk, country, and metal has characteristic fill passages, such as short scalar licks, runs, or riffs. Musicians are expected to be able to select and perform stylistically appropriate fills from a collection of stock fills and phrases. "Although it is a small break in the pattern, the tempo is not changed at all, and in most instances the time-keeping pattern is resumed immediately after the fill...An important point to remember is that the flow of the music should not be sacrificed to the technicality of the fill."

Chordal fills on guitar or keyboard instruments are "groups of single notes played within the context of a specific chord" to "produc[e] a countermelody." A guitarist playing chordal fills will strum the chord for several strums and then interpolate several passing notes that lead to the next chord.