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fur

[fur]
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noun
  1. the fine, soft, thick, hairy coat of the skin of a mammal.
  2. the skin of certain animals, as the sable, ermine, or beaver, covered with such a coat, used for lining, trimming, or making garments.
  3. a garment made of fur.
  4. any coating resembling or suggesting fur, as certain matter on the tongue.
  5. Heraldry. any conventional representation of a fur, as ermine, vair, potent, or their variations.
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adjective
  1. of or relating to fur, animal skins, dressed pelts, etc.: a fur coat; a fur trader.
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verb (used with object), furred, fur·ring.
  1. to line, face, or trim, with fur, as a garment.
  2. Building Trades. to apply furring to (a wall, ceiling, etc.).
  3. to clothe (a person) with fur.
  4. to coat with foul or deposited matter.
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Idioms
  1. make the fur fly,
    1. to cause a scene or disturbance, especially of a violent nature; make trouble: When the kids got mad they really made the fur fly.
    2. to do things quickly: She always makes the fur fly when she types.
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Origin of fur

1300–50; Middle English furre (noun), derivative of furren to trim with fur < Anglo-French furrer, Old French fo(u)rrer orig. to encase, derivative of fuerre sheath < Germanic; akin to Old English fōdder case, sheath, Old Norse fōthr, Greek pṓma
Related formsfur·less, adjective
Can be confusedfir fur

fur.

  1. furlong; furlongs.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

jacketcoatwoolpeltskinfluffhidedownfuzzpilebrushlintpelage

Examples from the Web for fur

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I saw 'em fur years, with a big cuttin' out to show the cross-section.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Say, I don't expect to quit cussin' him fur another thirty days yet.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Anyway, he said, Jim had already sure-enough drowned as fur as there was any fun in it.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Now, that's healthy doin's fur a two-fisted Christian, ain't it?

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • I'd play that fur the heftiest moral courage I've ever showed, anyway.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for fur

fur

noun
  1. the dense coat of fine silky hairs on such mammals as the cat, seal, and mink
    1. the dressed skin of certain fur-bearing animals, with the hair left on
    2. (as modifier)a fur coat
  3. a garment made of fur, such as a coat or stole
    1. a pile fabric made in imitation of animal fur
    2. a garment made from such a fabric
  5. heraldry any of various stylized representations of animal pelts or their tinctures, esp ermine or vair, used in coats of arms
  6. informal a whitish coating of cellular debris on the tongue, caused by excessive smoking, an upset stomach, etc
  7. British a whitish-grey deposit consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate precipitated from hard water onto the insides of pipes, boilers, and kettles
  8. make the fur fly to cause a scene or disturbance
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verb furs, furring or furred
  1. (tr) to line or trim a garment, etc, with fur
  2. (often foll by up) to cover or become covered with a furlike lining or deposit
  3. (tr) to clothe (a person) in a fur garment or garments
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Derived Formsfurless, adjective

Word Origin

C14: from Old French forrer to line a garment, from fuerre sheath, of Germanic origin; related to Old English fōdder case, Old Frisian fōder coat lining

fur.

abbreviation for
  1. furlong
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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 fur

n.

late 14c. "trimming or lining of a garment" (implied c.1300 in surname Furhode "fur hood"), probably from Old French fourrer "to line, sheathe," from fuerre "sheath, covering," from Frankish *fodr or another Germanic source (cf. Old Frisian foder "coat lining," Old High German fotar "a lining," German Futter, Gothic fodr "sword sheath"), from Proto-Germanic *fodram "sheath."

Sense transferred in English from the notion of a lining to the thing used in it. First applied early 15c. to animal hair still on the animal.

I'le make the fur Flie 'bout the eares of the old Cur. [Butler, "Hudibras," 1663]

As a verb, from c.1300, from Old French fourrer. Related: Furred; furring.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with fur

fur

see make the dust (fur) fly.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.