andiron

American  

[and-ahy-ern] / ˈændˌaɪ ərn /

noun

1. one of a pair of metal stands, usually of iron or brass, for holding logs in a fireplace.

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andiron British  

/ ˈændˌaɪən /

noun

1. another name for firedog

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Regionalisms

See dog iron, firedog.

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

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

The illustration shows an interesting feature in the use of a primitive andiron or boss to support the cooking pot in position above the fire.

From A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 3-228 by Nichols, Henry Hobart

Bessie, as she afterwards declared, was almost ready to faint at this announcement, but on turning to look she saw indeed, hanging by a chain to keep the gate closed, a dumpy, rusty, cast-iron andiron.

From The House that Jill Built after Jack's had proved a failure by Gardner, E. C. (Eugene Clarence)

The derivation of Fr. landier, andiron, is unknown, but the iron of the English word is due to folk-etymology.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest