fire

noun
/ˈfaɪ.ə/UK/ˈfaː(ə)//ˈfaɪ.ɚ/US

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ Proto-Germanic *fōr Proto-West Germanic *fuir Old English fȳr Middle English fyr English fire From Middle English fyr, from Old English fȳr (“fire”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuir, from *fuïr, a regularised form of Proto-Germanic *fōr (“fire”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥. Cognates See also Scots feier, fyre (“fire”), Yola vier, vire (“fire”), Saterland Frisian Fjuur, Fjúur (“fire”), West Frisian fjoer (“fire”), Alemannic German Füür (“fire”), Bavarian Feia (“fire”), Central Franconian Fauer, Feier, Füür (“fire”), Cimbrian bôar, vaür, vôar (“fire”), Dutch vier, vuur (“fire”), German Feuer (“fire”), German Low German Füer, Füür (“fire”), Luxembourgish Feier (“fire”), Mòcheno vaier (“fire”), Vilamovian faojer (“fire”), West Flemish vier (“fire”), Yiddish פֿײַער (fayer, “fire”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish fyr (“fire”), Icelandic funi (“fire”), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌽 (fōn, “fire”). Also, compare Armenian հուր (hur, “fire”), Greek πυρ (pyr, “fire”), Latin pūrgō (“to clean, cleanse, clear, purge, purify”), Umbrian 𐌐𐌉𐌓 (pir, “fire”), Bulgarian фир (fir, “ooze, pickle, soak”), Polish perz (“smoke”), Hittite 𒉺𒄴𒄯 (paḫḫur, “fire”), Luwian 𒉺𒀀𒄷𒌋𒌨 (pāhūr, “fire”), Tocharian A/B por/puwar (“fire”). This was an inanimate noun whose animate counterpart was Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnis (see ignite). Cognate to pyre.

  1. inherited from *péh₂wr̥
  2. inherited from *fōr — “fire
  3. inherited from *fuir
  4. inherited from fȳr — “fire
  5. inherited from fyr

Definitions

  1. A (usually self-sustaining) chemical reaction involving the bonding of oxygen with carbon…

    A (usually self-sustaining) chemical reaction involving the bonding of oxygen with carbon or other fuel, with the production of heat and the presence of flame or smouldering.

  2. An instance of this chemical reaction, especially when intentionally created and…

    An instance of this chemical reaction, especially when intentionally created and maintained in a specific location to a useful end (such as a campfire or a hearth fire).

    • We sat about the fire singing songs and telling tales.
    • We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.
  3. The occurrence, often accidental, of fire in a certain place, causing damage and danger.

    • There was a fire at the school last night and the whole place burned down.
    • During hot and dry summers many fires in forests are caused by regardlessly discarded cigarette butts.
    • Efforts to fight the fires in New South Wales and Victoria were hampered as large fires converged and created their own violent weather systems. The fire created dry lightning storms so severe that planes had to be grounded.
  4. + 42 more definitions
    1. The aforementioned chemical reaction of burning, considered one of the Classical elements…

      The aforementioned chemical reaction of burning, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.

    2. A heater or stove used in place of a real fire (such as an electric fire).

    3. The elements necessary to start a fire.

      • The fire was laid and needed to be lit.
    4. The bullets or other projectiles fired from a gun or other ranged weapon.

      • The fire from the enemy guns kept us from attacking.
    5. A planned bombardment by artillery or similar weapons, or the capability to deliver such.

      • We dominated the battlespace with our fires.
    6. A firearm.

      • I used to work at Five Below but now I keep that fire below
    7. A barrage, volley

      • In the district of Erfurt a very heavy sheaf [...] is called the Great Mother, and is carried on the last waggon to the barn, where all hands lift it down amid a fire of jokes.
    8. An instance of firing one or more rocket engines.

      • static fire
    9. Strength of passion, whether love or hate.

      • He had fire in his temper.
      • You call it hope—that fire of fire! It is but agony of desire: […]
    10. Liveliness of imagination or fancy

      Liveliness of imagination or fancy; intellectual and moral enthusiasm.

      • And bless their critic with a poet's fire.
      • Attendance of QN meetings has been dwindling, and the creative fire drained from the organization by the dead hand of wannabe bureaucrats bend ^([sic]) on thought control. The action has long since been elsewhere.
    11. Splendour

      Splendour; brilliancy; lustre; hence, a star.

      • Stars, hide your fires.
      • As in a zodiac representing the heavenly fires.
    12. A severe trial

      A severe trial; anything inflaming or provoking.

    13. Red coloration in a piece of opal.

    14. The capacity of a gemstone, especially a faceted, cut gemstone, that is transparent to…

      The capacity of a gemstone, especially a faceted, cut gemstone, that is transparent to visible light, to disperse white light into its multispectral component parts, resulting in a flash of different colors, the richness and dispersion of which increases the gemstone's value.

    15. Amazing

      Amazing; excellent.

      • This is fire, keep up the amazing work!
    16. To set (something, often a building) on fire.

      • That lamp was the mummy of a woman tied to a stout stake let into the rock, and he had fired her hair.
    17. To heat as with fire, but without setting on fire, as ceramic, metal objects, etc.

      • If you fire the pottery at too high a temperature, it may crack.
      • They fire the wood to make it easier to put a point on the end.
    18. To drive away by setting a fire.

      • Till my bad angel fire my good one out.
    19. To terminate the employment contract of (an employee), especially for cause (such as…

      To terminate the employment contract of (an employee), especially for cause (such as misconduct, incompetence, or poor performance).

      • The first, obvious choice was hysterical and fantastic Blanche – had there not been her timidity, her fear of being ‘fired’[…].
    20. To terminate a contract with a client

      To terminate a contract with a client; to drop a client.

      • Don't be hesitant to fire a client - cull out the deadwood. If a client doesn't meet the above criteria, you are better off without him. You don't do your best work for a client you'd rather not have.
    21. To shoot (a gun, rocket/missile, or analogous device).

      • We will fire our guns at the enemy.
      • The jet fired a salvo of rockets at the truck convoy.
      • He fired his radar gun at passing cars.
    22. To shoot a gun, cannon, or similar weapon.

      • Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.
      • I heard that both yesterday and today, when transports of the central government carrying our soldiers arrived at Hu-lu-tao, bandit troops on the shore fired at them.
    23. To operate a rocket engine to produce thrust.

      • The RCS thrusters fired several times to stabilize the tumbling spacecraft.
    24. To set off an explosive in a mine.

      • `Now are you both ready?' I said, as people do when they are going to fire a mine.
    25. To shoot

      To shoot; to attempt to score a goal.

      • Andrey Arshavin equalised with a superb volley into the corner before Nicklas Bendtner coolly fired Arsenal in front.
    26. To cause an action potential in a cell.

      • When a neuron fires, it transmits information.
    27. To forcibly direct (something).

      • He answered the questions the reporters fired at him.
    28. To initiate an event (by means of an event handler).

      • The event handler should only fire after all web page content has finished loading.
      • The queue fires a job whenever the thread pool is ready to handle it.
    29. To inflame

      To inflame; to irritate, as the passions.

      • to fire the soul with anger, pride, or revenge
    30. To be irritated or inflamed with passion.

      • Love had fired my mind.
    31. To animate

      To animate; to give life or spirit to.

      • to fire the genius of a young man
    32. To feed or serve the fire of.

      • to fire a boiler
      • Driver G. A. Rowett, of the North Eastern Region's Neville Hill shed, now joined the locomotive as pilotman, and actually took over the regulator, Fireman Wheddon continuing to fire.
      • We left with the "Blue Train", dead on time. This time I fired all the way. […] The next day took me home again on No. E.16 with Henri Dutertre. I fired from Paris to Calais.
    33. To light up as if by fire

      To light up as if by fire; to illuminate.

      • [The sun] fires the proud tops of the eastern pines.
    34. To cauterize (a horse, or a part of its body).

    35. To catch fire

      To catch fire; to be kindled.

    36. To work as a fireman, one who keeps the fire under a steam boiler on a steam-powered ship…

      To work as a fireman, one who keeps the fire under a steam boiler on a steam-powered ship or train.

      • I fired on that train until August.
    37. To start (an engine).

    38. Of a horse

      Of a horse: to race ahead with a burst of energy.

      • I'd say he struggled to get around the course. He never fired. In other years, when Buzzy Hannum rode him, he ran well enough to win, but not this time.
    39. Command to shoot with firearms.

    40. Acronym of financial independence and retire early.

    41. Acronym of finance, insurance and real estate, a class of businesses.

    42. Acronym of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (formerly Foundation for…

      Acronym of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (formerly Foundation for Individual Rights in Education): a non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the aim of protecting free speech rights on college campuses in the United States.

      • “President Trump may believe he has the power to revise the First Amendment with the stroke of a pen, but he doesn’t,” the free speech advocacy group FIRE said in a statement.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at fire. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01fire02carbon03transparent04clearly05clear06bright07luminous08glowing09glows10glow

A definitional loop anchored at fire. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at fire

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA