fir
nounAU, UK /fɜː/ · UK /fəː/
Etymology From Middle English firre, from Old English fyrh, furh, as in furhwudu (“pinewood”), from Proto-West Germanic *furhu, from Proto-Germanic *furhō, *furhijǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *pŕ̥kʷeh₂, from *pérkʷus (“oak”). Possibly conflated during Middle English with Old Norse fýri (as in fýriskógr (“pine-wood”). Germanic cognates include Dutch vuren, Low German Fuhr, German Föhre (“pine”), Danish fyr). Outside of Germanic, compare Italian (Trentino) porca (“fir”), Latin quercus (“oak”), Albanian shpardh, shparr (“Italian oak”), Punjabi ਪਰਗਾਇ (pargāī, “holm oak, Quercus baloot”)). Related to frith.
A conifer of the genus Abies.
- A beech wood with silver firs in it rolled down the face of the hill, and the maze of leafless twigs and dusky spires cut sharp against the soft blueness of the evening sky.1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
Any pinaceous conifer of related genera, especially a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga) or a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).
- we shall find a spot that is sheltered and snug enough, sir. There is a dry fir-wood just ahead, if I remember rightly.1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, chapter 3, in The Lord of the Rings:
- I can almost smell the fir scent… resinous, pungent.1991, Paul Chadwick, Concrete: American Christmas, Dark Horse Books:
Wood of such trees.
- Synonyms
- fir-tree, firwood
- Derived terms
89 terms
Algerian fir, alpine fir, amabilis fir, American silver fir, balsam fir, balsam of fir, Bhutan fir, big-cone Douglas fir), bristlecone fir, Bulgarian fir, Cascade fir, Caucasian fir, China fir, Chinese fir, cluster fir, Colorado fir, corkbark fir, cork fir, Corsican fir, Danzig fir, Douglas fir, Douglas-fir, Doug fir, fir adelgid, firbound, fir clubmoss, fir-cone, firleaf beardtongue, firless, firlike, fir mistletoe, firmoss, firry, flaky fir, Fraser fir, giant fir, golden fir, grand fir, great silver fir, Grecian fir, Greek fir, ground fit, Guatemalan fir, hemlock fir, Himalayan fir, jointfir, joint fir, Korean fir, lovely fir, lowland fir, lowland white fir, momi fir, Moroccan fir, mountain clubmoss, mountain fir clubmoss, needle fir, Nikko fir, noble fir, Nordmann's fir, Oregon fir, Pacific silver fir, parasol fir, pitch fir, plum fir, Prince Albert's fir, red fir, red silver fir, Riga fir, Rocky Nountain fir, sacred fir, Santa Lucia fir, Scotch fir, Scots fir, sea fir, Shasta fir, Shasta red fir, Siberian fir, Sikkim fir, silver fir, silvertip fir, sprucefir fleabane, spruce fir, subalpine fir, true fir, Turkish fir, Vancouver fir, western white fir, white fir, yellow fir