fir

fir
\ \ [14] As with many Indo-European tree-names, fir is a widespread term, but it does not mean the same thing wherever it occurs. Its prehistoric Indo-European ancestor was *perkos, which in Latin became quercus, the name for the ‘oak’.
\ \ Nor was the application confined to southern Europe, for Swiss German has a related ferch ‘oak wood’. But by and large, the Germanic languages took the term over and applied it to the ‘pine’: German föhre, Swedish fura, and Danish fyr all mean ‘pine’. So also did Old English furh (known only in the compound furhwudu ‘pinewood’), but this appears to have died out. It was replaced semantically by pine, but formally by Middle English firre, a borrowing from the Old Norse form fyri- (also known only in compounds). This was used as a name not for the ‘pine’, but for the ‘fir’ (which in Old English times had been called sæppe or gyr).

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • FIR — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda FIR es un acrónimo en inglés para Finite Impulse Response o Respuesta finita al impulso. Se trata de un tipo de filtros digitales en el que, como su nombre indica, si la entrada es una señal impulso, la salida tendrá …   Wikipedia Español

  • Fir — (f[ e]r), n. [Dan. fyr, fyrr; akin to Sw. furu, Icel. fura, AS. furh in furhwudu fir wood, G. f[ o]hre, OHG. forha pine, vereheih a sort of oak, L. quercus oak.] (Bot.) A genus ({Abies}) of coniferous trees, often of large size and elegant shape …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • FIR e. V. — FIR e. V. an der RWTH Aachen Kategorie: Forschungseinrichtung Träger: rechtlich selbständig Rechtsform des Trägers: Eingetragener Verein Standort der Einrichtung: Aachen Art der Forschung: Angewandte Fo …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • FIR — [Abk. für fernes Infrarot]: der Wellenlängenbereich 50 µm–1 mm (200–10 cm‒1) der ↑ Infrarotstrahlung, der spektroskopisch (FIR Spektroskopie, vgl. IR Spektroskopie) zur Untersuchung von Wasserstoffbrücken u. Schweratombindungen sowie von… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • fir — [ fɜr ] noun count a tall tree with thin sharp leaves that do not fall off in winter. It produces brown woody fruits called cones and can be called a fir or a fir tree. a. uncount the wood of a fir tree …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • fir. — «fur», noun. 1. any one of a group of evergreen trees somewhat like a spruce. Firs belong to the pine family. The needles of fir trees are distributed evenly around the branch and have a pleasant smell. Small firs are often used for Christmas… …   Useful english dictionary

  • fir — 14c.; O.E. had furhwudu pine wood, but the modern word is more likely from O.N. fyri fir or O.Dan. fyr, all from P.Gmc. *furkhon (Cf. O.H.G. foraha, Ger. Föhre fir ), from PIE root *perkos, originally oak (Cf. Skt. paraktah the holy fig tree,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • fir|ry — «FUR ee», adjective. 1. of or having to do with a fir. 2. made of fir. 3. abounding in firs …   Useful english dictionary

  • FIR — steht für: Fairway in Regulation, ein Begriff aus dem Golf Sport Fast Infrared, eine auf Infrarotstrahlung basierende Kommunikationsschnittstelle, siehe Infrared Data Association (IrDA) Fédération Internationale des Résistants, internationale… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fir — [fə: US fə:r] n [: Old English; Origin: fyrh] a tree with leaves shaped like needles that do not fall off in winter ▪ a fir tree …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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