A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “small bird” derived from the root ᴹ√PHILIK (Ety/PHILIK). It also appeared in Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936 with the gloss “sparrow, small bird” where it coexisted with similarly formed ᴹQ. filinke, elsewhere glossed “finch” (PE21/56). Its plural was filiki indicating a stem form filik- [filic-].

Conceptual Development: In both the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s the word for “sparrow” was ᴱQ. imbilink, an elaboration (diminutive?) of ᴱQ. imbile “swarm, flock, often of small birds” (QL/41), so perhaps “*small swarmer”. ᴹQ. filit (filik-) first appeared in a set of noun declensions from the early 1930s, but it was not translated (PE21/52).

Neo-Quenya: It is not entirely clear whether filit “sparrow” and filinke “finch” coexisted with these meanings, but I would retain both for purposes of Neo-Quenya, and assume filincë “finch” is slightly diminutive in sense.