wildfire
English
Etymology
From Old English wilde fȳr. Equivalent to wild + fire.
Pronunciation
Noun
wildfire (countable and uncountable, plural wildfires)
- A rapidly spreading fire, especially one occurring in a wildland area.
- Synonym: forest fire
- Coordinate terms: brushfire, bushfire
- Hyponym: megafire
- (historical) Greek fire, Byzantine fire.
- (dermatology) A spreading disease of the skin, particularly erysipelas.
- (figuratively) Something that acts quickly and uncontrollably.
- 2015 January 18, Monty Munford, “What’s the point of carrying a mobile phone nowadays?”, in The Daily Telegraph[1]:
- So, it appears a revolution has happened and a very unexpected one. Of course it was only a matter of time before it happened. With WiFi connectivity spreading faster than wildfire and a laptop or tablet in one’s bag, what’s the point of a mobile nowadays?
Derived terms
Translations
rapidly spreading fire
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Greek fire — see Greek fire
spreading disease of the skin
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something that acts quickly and uncontrollably
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See also
Further reading
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English compound terms
- English 3-syllable words
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- en:Dermatology
- English terms with quotations
- en:Fire
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