fur

[fur]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fur ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the fine, soft, thick, hairy coat of the skin of a mammal.

the skin of certain animals, as the sable, ermine, or beaver, covered with such a coat, used for lining, trimming, or making garments.

a garment made of fur.

any coating resembling or suggesting fur, as certain matter on the tongue.

Heraldry. any conventional representation of a fur, as ermine, vair, potent, or their variations.

adjective

of or relating to fur, animal skins, dressed pelts, etc.: a fur coat; a fur trader.

verb (used with object), furred, fur·ring.

to line, face, or trim, with fur, as a garment.

Building Trades. to apply furring to (a wall, ceiling, etc.).

to clothe (a person) with fur.

to coat with foul or deposited matter.

Idioms

make the fur fly,

to cause a scene or disturbance, especially of a violent nature; make trouble: When the kids got mad they really made the fur fly.
to do things quickly: She always makes the fur fly when she types.

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.

furlong; furlongs.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for fur

jacket, coat, wool, pelt, skin, fluff, hide, down, fuzz, pile, brush, lint, pelage

Examples from the Web for fur

Contemporary Examples of fur

Her father, who managed a fur trading business in China, died when she was 5.
Still Desperately Seeking Susan Sontag
Allen Barra
September 26, 2014
MOSCOW — Fur coats may well be in high demand this winter among those glamorous ladies in Ukraine who can afford them.
In Ukraine, Winter Is Coming
Anna Nemtsova
September 23, 2014
“I had to lie on a huge, fur rug and have a nightmare,” Prince Charles told his biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby.
Kate and William’s Royal Family Values
Tom Sykes
September 22, 2014
In Darfur, the Fur, Zaghawa, and Massaleit peoples have been targeted by the Sudan government, as were Muslims in Bosnia.
Still a Problem From Hell, Two Decades After Rwanda
John Prendergast
April 8, 2014
Alexander Iolas is described as a theatrical man with a fondness for fur coats and an extraordinary eye for talent.
Alexander Iolas: The Secret King of Surrealism
Justin Jones
March 7, 2014

Historical Examples of fur

I saw 'em fur years, with a big cuttin' out to show the cross-section.
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
Say, I don't expect to quit cussin' him fur another thirty days yet.
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

the dense coat of fine silky hairs on such mammals as the cat, seal, and mink

the dressed skin of certain fur-bearing animals, with the hair left on
(as modifier)a fur coat

a garment made of fur, such as a coat or stole

a pile fabric made in imitation of animal fur
a garment made from such a fabric

heraldry any of various stylized representations of animal pelts or their tinctures, esp ermine or vair, used in coats of arms

informal a whitish coating of cellular debris on the tongue, caused by excessive smoking, an upset stomach, etc

British a whitish-grey deposit consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate precipitated from hard water onto the insides of pipes, boilers, and kettles

make the fur fly to cause a scene or disturbance

verb furs, furring or furred

(tr) to line or trim a garment, etc, with fur

(often foll by up) to cover or become covered with a furlike lining or deposit

(tr) to clothe (a person) in a fur garment or garments

Derived Formsfurless, adjective

Word Origin for fur

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

furlong

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

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.

Idioms and Phrases with fur

fur

see make the dust (fur) fly.