fir
English
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
- (UK) IPA(key): /fɜː(ɹ)/
Audio (UK) (file) - (US) enPR: fûr, IPA(key): /fɝ/
Audio (US) (file) - (Scotland) IPA(key): /fɪɹ/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
- Homophones: fur (with the fir-fur merger), fair (with the Square-nurse merger), fare (with the Square-nurse merger)
Noun
fir (countable and uncountable, plural firs)
- (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.
- (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.
- (uncountable) Wood of such trees.
Derived terms
- Algerian fir (Abies numidica)
- alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
- amabilis fir (Abies amabilis)
- American silver fir (Abies balsamea)
- balsam fir, balsam of fir (Abies balsamea)
- Bhutan fir (Abies densa)
- big-cone Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa))
- bristlecone fir (Abies bracteata)
- Bulgarian fir (Abies borisii-regis)
- Cascade fir (Abies amabilis)
- Caucasian fir (Abies nordmanniana)
- China fir, Chinese fir (Cunninghamia spp.)
- cluster fir (Pinus pinaster)
- Colorado fir (Abies concolor)
- corkbark fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
- cork fir (Abies arizonica)
- Corsican fir (Pinus laricio)
- Danzig fir (Pinus sylvestris)
- Douglas fir, Douglas-fir, Doug fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
- fir adelgid (Adelges abietis)
- fir clubmoss (Huperzia selago)
- fir-cone
- firleaf beardtongue (Penstemon abietinus)
- firless
- firlike
- fir mistletoe (Phoradendron pauciflorum)
- firmoss (Huperzia spp.)
- firry
- flaky fir (Abies squamata)
- Fraser fir (Abies fraseri)
- giant fir (Abies grandis)
- golden fir (Abies magnifica)
- grand fir (Abies grandis)
- great silver fir (Abies grandis)
- Grecian fir, Greek fir (Abies cephalonica)
- ground fit (Lycopodium obscurum)
- Guatemalan fir (Abies guatemalensis)
- hemlock fir (Tsuga spp.)
- Himalayan fir (Abies spectabilis)
- jointfir, joint fir (Ephedra spp.)
- Korean fir (Abies koreana)
- lovely fir (Abies amabilis)
- lowland fir, lowland white fir (Abies grandis)
- momi fir (Abies firma)
- Moroccan fir (Abies pinsapo var. marocana)
- mountain clubmoss, mountain fir clubmoss (Huperzia appalachiana)
- needle fir (Abies holophylla)
- Nikko fir (Abies homolepis)
- noble fir (Abies procera)
- Nordmann's fir (Abies normanniana)
- Oregon fir (Abies grandis)
- Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis)
- parasol fir (Sciadopitys verticillata)
- pitch fir (Pinus rigida etc.)
- plum fir (Prumnopitys andina, syn. Podocarpus andinus)
- Prince Albert's fir (Tsuga heterophylla)
- red fir (Abies magnifica)
- red silver fir (Abies amabilis)
- Riga fir (Pinus sylvestris)
- Rocky Nountain fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
- sacred fir (Abies religiosa)
- Santa Lucia fir (Abies bracteata)
- Scotch fir, Scots fir (Pinus sylvestris)
- sea fir (Abietinaria abietina, syn. Sertularia abietina)
- Shasta fir (Abies shastensis)
- Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica)
- Siberian fir (Abies sibirica)
- Sikkim fir (Abies densa)
- silver fir (Abies alba)
- silvertip fir (Abies magnifica)
- sprucefir fleabane (Erigeron eximius)
- spruce fir (Picea abies)
- subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
- true fir (Abies spp.)
- Turkish fir (Abies nordmanniana subsp. equi-trojani)
- Vancouver fir (Abies grandis)
- western white fir (Abies grandis)
- white fir (Abies concolor)
- yellow fir
Translations
|
References
- J.P. Mallory, Douglas Q. Adams, eds., Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture s.v. "oak", "pine" (London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997), pp. 407, 428-9.
- Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edn., s.v. "fir" (Oxford, 2000).
Irish
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
- Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 106
- 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
Derived terms
- fir datt
- fir d'éischt
- fir ze
Manx
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fɪr/
Middle English
Norwegian Bokmål
Old Irish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fʲirʲ/
Romanian
Etymology
Inherited from Latin fīlum, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fir/
Audio (file) Audio (file)
See also
- sârmă f