fir

CEFRB2

/fɜː/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An evergreen tree with needle-like leaves.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Any pinaceous conifer of related genera, especially a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga) or a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).

Examples

  • Every family decorates a fir tree for the new year.

  • We are decorating the fir tree.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /feː/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Wood of such trees.

  2. A conifer of the genus Abies.

More examples

In context

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

  • 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.

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

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

We decorated the tall green blank tree with lights and ornaments for Christmas.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English firre, from 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”). Possibly conflated during Middle English with Old Norse fýri (as in fýriskógr (“pine-wood”). 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.