Filofax
(ˈfaɪləʊfæks)
[Repr. colloq. pronunc. of file of facts: see file n.2 and fact.]
A proprietary name for a portable filing system for personal or office use, consisting of a loose-leaf notebook with separate sections for appointments, notes, addresses, etc., usu. in a wallet with spaces for pens, credit cards, and other personal items.
Long established, but not widely known until the 1980s.
| 1931 Trade Marks Jrnl. 6 May 647/1 Filofax..Loose leaf binders. 1983 Financial Times 16 Apr. 13/5 Filofax..has been going for years... Entirely British, based in Essex, it was started sometime in the 1920s... Basically it is a looseleaf system of keeping almost all the personal documentation you need up to date and in order, all in one small portable package... A standard pack would probably consist of a diary, address book and spare notepaper. 1985 Trade Marks Jrnl. 9 Oct. 2588/2 Filofax..Stationery, printed matter; printed forms; diaries; covers..index cards; card index cabinets (not being furniture). 1985 Company Dec. 9/1 Paul Smith was first to spot and stock the now ubiquitous Filofax, which the media crowd took so completely to their hearts and pockets. 1986 Private Eye 2 May 14 Out goes the Militant Tendency—or rather it doesn't. In come a lot of new-style ad-men in suits with computers and Filofaxes. 1987 Independent 23 Mar. 1/4 The company itself started in 1921..[at] Sandhurst{ddd}Filofaxes were standard issue. In military circles they were known as vade-mecums—an article carried on the person. |