wildfire

English

A wildfire

Etymology

From Old English wilde fȳr. Equivalent to wild +‎ fire.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪəldˌfaɪɝ/

Noun

wildfire (countable and uncountable, plural wildfires)

1. A rapidly spreading fire, especially one occurring in a wildland area.
2. (historical) Greek fire, Byzantine fire.
3. A spreading disease of the skin, particularly erysipelas.
4. (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?

Quotations

• 1622, Thomas Dekker, Philip Massinger, The Virgin Martyr:

  The.     Do not blow, / The Furnace of a wrath thrice hot already; / Ætna is in my brest, wildfire burns here, / Which onely bloud must quench […]

• 1715, Floyer, Edward Baynard, Psychrolousia (Or, the History of Cold Bathing: Both Ancient and Modern):

  Where are […] the Aunts that do as much for their Nieces, and make them caper and sparkle like Wildfire?

• 1715, Francisco de Quevedo, The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo:

  I slept very disturbedly, and had a quick high towring Pulse; had strange Flashes in my Blood, like Wild-fire, which I could perceive in my Face, Neck, Breast, and extream Parts.

Synonyms

• forest fire

Derived terms

• spread like wildfire

Translations

rapidly spreading fire

• Arabic: حَرِيق هَائِل m (ḥarīq hāʔil)
• Bashkir: үрт (ürt)
• Catalan: incendi forestal m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 山火 (zh) (shānhuǒ), 野火 (zh) (yěhuǒ), 林火 (zh) (línhuǒ), 森林大火 (sēnlín dàhuǒ), 森林火災／森林火灾 (zh) (sēnlín huǒzāi)

• Esperanto: forsta incendio (forest fire)
• Finnish: maastopalo (fi), kulovalkea (fi)
• French: feu de forêt (fr) m (forest fire), (jargon) FdF m, incendie de forêt (fr) m
• Galician: incendio forestal m
• Georgian: ტყის ხანძარი (ṭq̇is xanʒari)
• German: Lauffeuer (de) n, Waldbrand (de) m (forest fire)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: futótűz (hu)
• Italian: incendio boschivo m
• Japanese: 山火事 (ja) (やまかじ, yama kaji), 山林火災 (さんりんかさい, sanrin kasai), 森林火災 (しんりんかさい, shinrinkasai)
• Korean: 산불 (ko) (sanbul)
• Old English: wilde fȳr n
• Persian: آتش‌سوزی (âtaš-suzi)
• Portuguese: incêndio florestal
• Russian: пожа́р (ru) m (požár), лесно́й пожа́р m (lesnój požár)
• Spanish: incendio forestal m (forest fire), fuego incontrolado m
• Swedish: löpeld (sv)
• Telugu: దావాగ్ని (te) (dāvāgni)
• Vietnamese: chất cháy

Greek fire — see Greek fire

spreading disease of the skin

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

something that acts quickly and uncontrollably

• Finnish: kulovalkea (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

• brushfire
• bushfire
• conflagration