furfur

English

Etymology

From Latin furfur (“bran”), reduplication of *fur, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰur-, metathesis of *gʰrus- (compare Lithuanian grū́sti (“to grind (barley)”), Ancient Greek χρώς (khrṓs, “skin, husk”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɜːfə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɝfɚ/

Noun

furfur (usually uncountable, plural furfures)

1. (archaic, countable) a particle of dandruff
2. (archaic, uncountable) dandruff
   • 1964, Anthony Burgess, Nothing Like the Sun:

     ‘Aye,’ said WS, still in bed, scratching his baldness, examining the furfur in his fingernails.

Translations

dandruff

• Bulgarian: пърхот m (pǎrhot)
• Russian: пе́рхоть (ru) f (pérxotʹ)
• Ukrainian: лупа́ (lupá)

Anagrams

• fru-fru, frufru, furrfu

Latin

Etymology

Unknown. Traditionally explained as from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to rub, grind”), however as De Vaan notes the vowel /u/ would be unexplained; a preform *gʰur- ~ *ǵʰur- would be expected instead, but no such root exists. Compare Ancient Greek κέγχρος (kénkhros) and κάχρυς (kákhrus), which also relate to grains.

Alternatively, cognate with Sanskrit बुस (busa, “chaff, refuse grain; rubbish”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰus-. In either of these cases, from a reduplicated root.

Given the word's unusual form in the absence of a solid Indo-European explanation, borrowing from some unknown, perhaps substrate, source is likely.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈfur.fur/, [ˈfʊrfʊr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfur.fur/, [ˈfurfur]

Noun

furfur m (genitive furfuris); third declension

1. bran, husks of grain, chaff
2. scaly infection of the skin

Declension

Third-declension noun

	singular	plural
nominative	furfur	furfurēs
genitive	furfuris	furfurum
dative	furfurī	furfuribus
accusative	furfurem	furfurēs
ablative	furfure	furfuribus
vocative	furfur	furfurēs

Derived terms

• furfurāceus
• furfurāculum
• furfurārius
• furfureus
• furfuriō
• furfurōsus

Descendants

• Italian: forfora, forforo (Lucchese)
• Old French: fourfre
• Piedmontese: forfa, fòrfora
• Sardinian: frùffere, fùffere, fùrfaru
• → Catalan: fúrfur
• → English: furfur ⇒ furfuraceous
• → French: furfures

References

• Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) “crusca”, in Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “fŭrfŭr”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 3: D–F, page 895

Further reading

• “furfur”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• furfur in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.