andiron
Americannoun
noun
Regionalisms
Etymology
Origin of andiron
1250–1300; Middle English aundyr ( n ) e, Anglo-French aundyre, with the 2nd syllable taken as Middle English ire, iren iron < Old French andier, allegedly < Gaulish *anderos young animal (through known use of animals’ heads as decorations on andirons), though supposed relation between this word and Middle Welsh anneir, Breton annoer heifer, Old Irish ainder young woman, poses serious phonetic problems
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She falls, strikes her head against a fraternity andiron.
From Time Magazine Archive
On display in Manhattan's Robinson Galleries last week went a Wheelock retrospective show that started with the dachshund andiron, ended in 1940 with a crisp, stylized figure of Washington at Valley Forge.
From Time Magazine Archive
With one foot on top of the andiron and a hand resting on his knee, he stood gazing into the embers.
From The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Velma Swanston Howard
Nicholas knocked his pipe against the andiron, and rose, to lay it carefully on the shelf.
From Tiverton Tales by Alice Brown
The andiron in question was a thick, roughly shaped bar of iron, bent at both ends, but the front end divided in two, to serve for feet, and furnished with a thick, short knob.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 76, February, 1864 by Various
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
