fir

See also: FIR, fir-, and fír

English

A fir tree (Abies balsamea)

Etymology

From Middle English firre, from either Old Norse fýri (as in fýriskógr (“pine-wood”) or 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”).

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /fɜː(ɹ)/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (US) enPR: fûr, IPA^(key): /fɝ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /fɪɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
• Homophone: fur (with the fir-fur merger)

Noun

fir (countable and uncountable, plural firs)

1. (chiefly countable) A conifer of the genus Abies.
   • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict‎^[1]:

     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.

2. (chiefly countable) Any pinaceous conifer of related genera, especially a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga) or a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).
   • 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, chapter 3, in The Lord of the Rings:

     we shall find a spot that is sheltered and snug enough, sir. There is a dry fir-wood just ahead, if I remember rightly.

   • 1991, Paul Chadwick, Concrete: American Christmas, Dark Horse Books:

     I can almost smell the fir scent… resinous, pungent.

3. (uncountable) Wood of such trees.

Synonyms

• (all countable senses): fir-tree
• (wood): firwood

Derived terms

• balsam fir - Abies balsamea
• balsam of fir
• bristlecone fir - Abies bracteata
• Chinese fir - Cunninghamia lanceolata
• corkbark fir - Abies lasiocarpa
• Doug fir
• Douglas fir, Douglas-fir - Pseudotsuga menziesii
• fir adelgid - Adelges abietis
• fir clubmoss - Huperzia selago
• fir-cone
• firleaf beardtongue - Penstemon abietinus
• firless
• firlike
• fir mistletoe - Phoradendron pauciflorum
• firmoss - Huperzia spp.
• firry
• Fraser fir - Abies fraseri
• grand fir - Abies grandis
• Guatemalan fir - Abies guatemalensis
• joint fir
• jointfir - Ephedra
• Momi fir - Abies firma
• mountain fir clubmoss
• Nikko fir - Abies homolepis
• noble fir - Abies procera
• Pacific silver fir - Abies amabilis
• red fir - Abies spp.
• Riga fir - Pinus sylvestris
• sacred fir - Abies religiosa
• Scotch fir - Pinus sylvestris
• sea fir - Abietinaria abietina (syn. Sertularia abietina)
• silver fir - Abies alba
• sprucefir fleabane - Erigeron eximius
• subalpine fir - Abies lasiocarpa
• white fir - Abies concolor

 

Translations

conifer of the genus Abies

• Abkhaz: аԥсагә (apsagʷ)
• Afrikaans: silwerspar
• Albanian: bredh (sq) m
• Alemannic German: Tannu, Dane
• Arabic: شُوح‎ m (šūḥ)
• Aragonese: abet
• Armenian: եղեւին (hy) (eġewin)
• Aromanian: brad m, ehlã f
• Asturian: abetu m
• Azerbaijani: küknar (az)
• Basque: izei
• Belarusian: пі́хта f (píxta), ёлка f (jólka)
• Bulgarian: ела́ f (elá)
• Catalan: avet (ca)
• Cheyenne: vé'evêšéstótó'e, vó'komêšéstótó'e
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 冷杉 (zh) (lěngshān); 樅／枞 (zh) (cōng) (literary); 樅樹／枞树 (zh) (cōngshù)

• Corsican: ghjaddicu, ghjallicu
• Czech: jedle (cs) f
• Danish: ædelgran (da) c
• Dutch: zilverspar (nl) m
• Eastern Mari: нулго (nulgo)
• Esperanto: abio (eo)
• Estonian: nulg (et)
• Even: ӈаӈта (ŋaŋta)
• Evenki: асикта (asikta)
• Faroese: aðalgrann f
• Finnish: pihta (fi), jalokuusi (fi)
• French: sapin (fr) m
• Galician: abeto (gl), pinabete m
• Georgian: სოჭი (ka) (soč̣i)
• German: Tanne (de) f, Tannenbaum (de) m
• Greek: έλατο (el) n (élato), έλατος (el) m (élatos)

  Ancient: ἐλάτη f (elátē)

• Haitian Creole: sapen
• Hebrew: אשוח‎ (he) m (ashúakh)
• Hungarian: fenyő (hu)
• Ido: abieto (io)
• Interlingua: abiete
• Irish: giúis (ga) f
• Italian: abete (it) m
• Japanese: 樅の木 (momi no ki), モミ (momi)
• Kazakh: самырсын (samyrsyn), майқарағай (maiqarağai)
• Khakas: сыбы (sıbı)
• Komi-Zyrian: ньыв (ńyv)
• Korean: 전나무 (ko) (jeonnamu)
• Latin: abiēs f
• Latvian: baltegles
• Lithuanian: kėnis
• Low German: Dann f
• Macedonian: чам (čam), ела f (ela)
• Manchu: ᠵᠠᡴᠰᡠᠨ (jaksun)
• Manx: juys
• Megleno-Romanian: brad m
• Middle Dutch: danne m
• Middle English: firre
• Middle High German: vorhe, tanne
• Middle Irish: ochtach
• Middle Low German: vūre, danne
• Mingrelian: გიგიბი (gigibi)
• Mongolian: жодоо (mn) (žodoo)
• Nahuatl: oyametl (nah)
• Nanai: вангта, хасикта
• Norman: sapîn m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: edelgran

  Nynorsk: edelgran

• Occitan: avet (oc)
• Old English: furh, æbs
• Old High German: tanna f
• Old Norse: fúra
• Old Prussian: adlē
• Old Saxon: furia, danna (also dennia)
• Persian: نراد‎ (fa) (narâd)
• Piedmontese: sapin
• Polish: jodła (pl) f
• Portuguese: abeto (pt) m
• Quechua: awitu
• Romanian: brad (ro) m
• Russian: пи́хта (ru) f (píxta), ель (ru) f (jelʹ), ёлка (ru) f (jólka)
• Saterland Frisian: Danne
• Scottish Gaelic: giuthas m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: јела, је̑лка f

  Roman: jéla (sh) f, jȇlka (sh) f

• Sherpa: tashing
• Slovak: jedľa (sk)
• Slovene: jelka (sl) f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: jedła f

  Upper Sorbian: jědla f

• Southern Altai: јойгон (ǰoygon)
• Spanish: abeto (es) m
• Swahili: mberoshi
• Swedish: ädelgran (sv), gran (sv)
• Tagalog: abeto
• Taos: p’ȍk’úowoną
• Tibetan: སོམ་ཤིང་། (Som shing.)
• Tofa: чойған (coyġan)
• Turkish: göknar (tr)
• Tuvan: чойган (çoygan)
• Ukrainian: яли́ця (uk) f (jalýcja)
• Venetian: tana
• Vietnamese: linh sam
• Walloon: sapén (wa) m
• Welsh: ffynidwydden, sybwydd
• Yakut: харыйа (qarıya)
• Yiddish: טענענבוים‎ m (tenenboym), יאָדלע‎ f (yodle)

Anagrams

• Fri, IFR, IRF, RFI, RIF, Rif, rif

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʲɪɾʲ/

Noun

fir m

1. inflection of fear (“man; husband”):
   1. vocative/genitive singular
   2. nominative/dative plural

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
fir	fhir	bhfir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German furi, from Proto-West Germanic *furi, from Proto-Germanic *furi. Cognate with German für, English for.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fiːʀ/, [ˈfiː.ɐ], [fiə̯]
• IPA^(key): /fe(ʀ)/, [fɐ], [fə] (reduced)
• Homophone: vir

Preposition

fir (+ accusative)

1. for

Derived terms

• fir datt
• fir d'éischt
• fir ze

Manx

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɪr/

Noun

fir

1. plural of fer

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
fir	ir	vir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Middle English

Noun

fir

1. Alternative form of firre

Northern Kurdish

Alternative forms

• firr

Noun

fir f

1. flight (act of flying)

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

fir

1. imperative of fire

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʲirʲ/

Noun

fir

1. inflection of fer:
   1. vocative/genitive singular
   2. nominative plural

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
fir	ḟir	fir pronounced with /v(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Romanian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fīlum, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fir/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

fir n (plural fire)

1. thread, string, filament, wire
2. (fir de păr) a hair

Derived terms

• desfira
• înfira
• răsfira

See also

• sârmă f

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

fir m

1. genitive singular of fear
2. nominative plural of fear

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical	Lenition
fir	fhir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.