See also: FIR, fir-, and fír

English

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A fir tree (Abies balsamea)

Etymology

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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

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Noun

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fir (countable and uncountable, plural firs)

  1. (chiefly countable) A conifer of the genus Abies.
    • 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
      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

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  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

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Irish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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fir m

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

Mutation

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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

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  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

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Preposition

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fir (+ accusative)

  1. for

Derived terms

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Manx

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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fir

  1. plural of fer

Mutation

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Manx mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
fir ir vir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Middle English

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Noun

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fir

  1. Alternative form of firre

Northern Kurdish

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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fir f

  1. flight (act of flying)

Norwegian Bokmål

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Verb

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fir

  1. imperative of fire

Old Irish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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fir

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

Mutation

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

Romanian

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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fir n (plural fire)

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

Derived terms

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See also

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Scottish Gaelic

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Noun

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fir m

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

Mutation

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