The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

File \File\ (f[imac]l), n. [AS. fe['o]l; akin to D. viji, OHG.
   f[imac]la, f[imac]hala, G. feile, Sw. fil, Dan. fiil, cf.
   Icel. [thorn][=e]l, Russ. pila, and Skr. pi[,c] to cut out,
   adorn; perh. akin to E. paint.]
   1. A steel instrument, having cutting ridges or teeth, made
      by indentation with a chisel, used for abrading or
      smoothing other substances, as metals, wood, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: A file differs from a rasp in having the furrows made
         by straight cuts of a chisel, either single or crossed,
         while the rasp has coarse, single teeth, raised by the
         pyramidal end of a triangular punch.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. Anything employed to smooth, polish, or rasp, literally or
      figuratively.
      [1913 Webster]

            Mock the nice touches of the critic's file.
                                                  --Akenside.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A shrewd or artful person. [Slang] --Fielding.
      [1913 Webster]

            Will is an old file in spite of his smooth face.
                                                  --Thackeray.
      [1913 Webster]

   Bastard file, Cross file, etc. See under Bastard,
      Cross, etc.

   Cross-cut file, a file having two sets of teeth crossing
      obliquely.

   File blank, a steel blank shaped and ground ready for
      cutting to form a file.

   File cutter, a maker of files.

   Second-cut file, a file having teeth of a grade next finer
      than bastard.

   Single-cut file, a file having only one set of parallel
      teeth; a float.

   Smooth file, a file having teeth so fine as to make an
      almost smooth surface.
      [1913 Webster]