fir
[fur]
- 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.
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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-)
FIR
- far-infrared radiation.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fir
Contemporary Examples
The Daily Pic: Monika Sosnowska plants her "Fir Tree" in Central Park.
Historical Examples
So he took a bough of fir, thick-set with little twigs, and tied the kill on that.
The Trail BookMary Austin
Then the vine and the snowdrop wept, and the pine-tree and the fir were very sad.
A Little Book of Profitable TalesEugene Field
With the pointer in his hand he touched the star at the apex of the fir.
Bride of the MistletoeJames Lane Allen
We wandered about in the fir wood, and at last came to a pause and rested.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
These plants are found on pine and fir trunks and on sawdust heaps.
The Mushroom, Edible and OtherwiseM. E. Hard
fir
- 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
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Word Origin
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
n.
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").
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper