What does filibeg mean?
A filibeg is a short kilt — the tailored, pleated garment now regarded as standard Highland dress — distinguished from its predecessor, the feileadh mòr or belted plaid, which consisted of a long length of cloth gathered and belted around the body. The name comes from Scottish Gaelic feileadh beag, literally 'small plaid' or 'little fold', reflecting the fact that this form of the kilt covers less of the body than the great kilt. The term is chiefly Scottish and carries a historical, antiquarian flavour; in everyday modern usage, whether in Edinburgh or elsewhere, people almost always say simply 'kilt', and 'filibeg' survives mainly in writing about the history of Highland costume. Older sources sometimes spell it philabeg. For readers interested in how Scotland's most iconic garment evolved, the word marks precisely the moment when the practical, all-purpose plaid gave way to the neat, dedicated skirt-like kilt familiar today.
nounA filibeg is a short kilt, worn without pleating at the back, as distinct from the fuller belted plaid of traditional Highland dress.
- A short kilt, as opposed to the longer belted plaid (feileadh mòr) of traditional Highland dress.
"The clansman traded his belted plaid for a lighter filibeg suited to summer marches."
"Dressed in his grandfather's tartan filibeg, he led the procession through the glen."
"Early accounts of Highland dress describe the transition from the cumbersome belted plaid to the neater filibeg."
Regular English plural; occasionally left uninflected after numbers in older Scots-influenced writing, but the regular plural is standard.
"The reenactors wore matching tartan filibegs for the historical display."
The 'small kilt' that became Scotland's national dress was once dismissed by some Highlanders as an upstart innovation — and its name literally means 'little fold' in Gaelic.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of filibeg
Filibeg derives from Scottish Gaelic feileadh beag, meaning 'small plaid' or 'little fold', formed from feileadh ('plaid, wrap') combined with beag ('small'). It names the shorter kilt that emerged as a distinct alternative to the feileadh mòr, or great kilt. An older anglicised spelling, philabeg, appears in earlier English sources. The word remains tied to Scottish usage and discussions of Highland dress history.
How filibeg is actually used
The word is chiefly Scottish and largely historical or antiquarian today; most modern speakers would simply say 'kilt'. The spelling 'philabeg' appears in older sources. It contrasts with the feileadh mòr (great kilt or belted plaid), the larger garment from which the modern kilt developed.
Easily confused with filibeg
Philabeg is simply an older spelling variant of the same word, not a different garment.