fir

[fur]

See more synonyms for fir on Thesaurus.com

noun

any coniferous tree belonging to the genus Abies, of the pine family, characterized by its pyramidal style of growth, flat needles, and erect cones.
the wood of such a tree.

Origin of fir

1250–1300; Middle English firre, Old English fyrh; cognate with Old Saxon furie; akin to Old English furh- (in fuhrwudu pine), Old Norse fura fir, Latin quercus oak (< *perkwu-)

Can be confusedfir fur

FIR

far-infrared radiation.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for fir

cedar, pine, wood, douglas, conifer, alpine

Examples from the Web for fir

Contemporary Examples of fir

The Daily Pic: Monika Sosnowska plants her "Fir Tree" in Central Park.
A Climb-Down for Art
Blake Gopnik
November 27, 2012

Historical Examples of fir

So he took a bough of fir, thick-set with little twigs, and tied the kill on that.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
Then the vine and the snowdrop wept, and the pine-tree and the fir were very sad.
A Little Book of Profitable Tales
Eugene Field
With the pointer in his hand he touched the star at the apex of the fir.
Bride of the Mistletoe
James Lane Allen
We wandered about in the fir wood, and at last came to a pause and rested.
The First Violin
Jessie Fothergill
These plants are found on pine and fir trunks and on sawdust heaps.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard

British Dictionary definitions for fir

fir

noun

any pyramidal coniferous tree of the N temperate genus Abies, having single needle-like leaves and erect cones: family PinaceaeSee also red fir, silver fir, balsam fir
any of various other trees of the family Pinaceae, such as the Douglas fir
the wood of any of these trees

Word Origin for fir

Old English furh; related to Old Norse fura, Old High German foraha fir, Latin quercus oak

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fir

14c.; Old English had furhwudu "pine wood," but the modern word is more likely from Old Norse fyri- "fir" or Old Danish fyr, all from Proto-Germanic *furkhon (cf. Old High German foraha, German Föhre "fir"), from PIE root *perkos, originally "oak" (cf. Sanskrit paraktah "the holy fig tree," Hindi pargai "the evergreen oak," Latin quercus "oak," Lombardic fereha "a kind of oak").