Definitions for "Hidden file"
A file that is not shown in a normal listing of the files contained in a directory. Files are hidden to protect them from change or deletion. MS-DOS, for example, contains two hidden files, IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS (IBMBIO.COM and IBMOS.COM in IBM releases of MS-DOS); both contain critical portions of the operating system. On the Apple Macintosh, hidden files are also called invisible files.
a file that is not normally visible when examining the contents of the directory in which it resides
a file whose name begins with a period