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filon

vein (of ore), seam

noun fee-LOHN Rare

Origin: French fil (thread, wire)

Also means

goldmine (figurative)

Usage Note

Filon in mining refers to a seam or vein of ore. Figuratively, trouver le bon filon means to find a lucrative niche or a great deal — very common in informal speech. The final -n is nasal and the -on is not pronounced as a separate 'n'.

Examples

"Les mineurs ont découvert un filon d'or."

Natural Translation

The miners discovered a vein of gold.

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