fir

See also: FIR, fir-, and fír

English

A fir tree (Abies balsamea)

Etymology

From Middle English firre, from Old English fyrh, furh (as in furhwudu (pinewood),[1] from Proto-West Germanic *furhu, from Proto-Germanic *furhō, *furhijǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *pŕ̥kʷeh₂, from *pérkʷus (oak). Possibly conflated during Middle English with Old Norse fýri (as in fýriskógr (pine-wood).[2]

Germanic cognates include Dutch vuren, Low German Fuhr, German Föhre (pine), Danish fyr). Outside of Germanic, compare Italian (Trentino) porca (fir), Latin quercus (oak), Albanian shpardh, shparr (Italian oak), Punjabi ਪਰਗਾਇ (pargāī, holm oak, Quercus baloot)). Related to frith.

Pronunciation

Noun

fir (countable and uncountable, plural firs)

  1. (chiefly countable) A conifer of the genus Abies.
    • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict:
      A beech wood with silver firs in it rolled down the face of the hill, and the maze of leafless twigs and dusky spires cut sharp against the soft blueness of the evening sky.
  2. (chiefly countable) Any pinaceous conifer of related genera, especially a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga) or a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).
    • 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, chapter 3, in The Lord of the Rings:
      we shall find a spot that is sheltered and snug enough, sir. There is a dry fir-wood just ahead, if I remember rightly.
    • 1991, Paul Chadwick, Concrete: American Christmas, Dark Horse Books:
      I can almost smell the fir scent… resinous, pungent.
  3. (uncountable) Wood of such trees.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. J.P. Mallory, Douglas Q. Adams, eds., Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture s.v. "oak", "pine" (London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997), pp. 407, 428-9.
  2. Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edn., s.v. "fir" (Oxford, 2000).

Anagrams

Irish

Pronunciation

Noun

fir m

  1. inflection of fear (man; husband):
    1. vocative/genitive singular
    2. nominative/dative plural

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
fir fhir bhfir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

  1. Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 106
  2. Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 100

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German furi, from Proto-West Germanic *furi, from Proto-Germanic *furi. Cognate with German für, English for.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fiːʀ/, [ˈfiː.ɐ], [fiə̯]
  • IPA(key): /fe(ʀ)/, [fɐ], [fə] (reduced)
  • Homophone: vir

Preposition

fir (+ accusative)

  1. for

Derived terms

  • fir datt
  • fir d'éischt
  • fir ze

Manx

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɪr/

Noun

fir

  1. plural of fer

Mutation

Manx mutation
RadicalLenitionEclipsis
firirvir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Middle English

Noun

fir

  1. Alternative form of firre

Northern Kurdish

Alternative forms

Noun

fir f

  1. flight (act of flying)

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

fir

  1. imperative of fire

Old Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fʲirʲ/

Noun

fir

  1. inflection of fer:
    1. vocative/genitive singular
    2. nominative plural

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
RadicalLenitionNasalization
fir ḟir fir
pronounced with /v(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Romanian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fīlum, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fir/
  • (file)
  • (file)

Noun

fir n (plural fire)

  1. thread, string, filament, wire
  2. (fir de păr) a hair

Derived terms

See also

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

fir m

  1. genitive singular of fear
  2. nominative plural of fear

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical Lenition
firfhir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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