fire

English

A large fire. (1)
A small fire from a lighter. (1)
The fire of a stationary minigun. (8)

Etymology

From Middle English fier, from Old English fȳr (“fire”), from West Germanic *fuïr, a regularised form of Proto-Germanic *fōr (“fire”) (compare Saterland Frisian Fjuur, West Frisian fjoer, Dutch vuur, Low German Für, German Feuer, Danish fyr), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂ur (compare Hittite 𒉺𒀪𒄯 (paḫḫur), Umbrian pir, Tocharian A/B por/puwar, Czech pȳř (“hot ashes”), Ancient Greek πῦρ (pŷr, “fire”), Armenian հուր (hur, “fire”)) and perhaps Albanian prush (“embers”). This was an inanimate noun whose animate counterpart was Proto-Indo-European *h₁ngʷnis, *h₁ngʷni-.

Pronunciation

Noun

fire (countable and uncountable; plural fires)

  1. (uncountable) 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. (countable) Something that has produced or is capable of producing this chemical reaction, such as a campfire.
    We sat around the fire singing songs and telling stories.
  3. (countable) The often accidental occurrence of fire in a certain place leading to its full or partial destruction.
    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.
  4. (uncountable, alchemy) One of the four basic elements.
  5. (China, India and Japan) One of the five basic elements (see Wikipedia article on the Classical elements).
  6. (countable, UK) A heater or stove used in place of a real fire (such as an electric fire).
  7. (countable) The elements necessary to start a fire.
    The fire was laid and needed to be lit.
  8. (uncountable) The in-flight bullets or other projectiles shot from a gun.
    The fire from the enemy guns kept us from attacking.
  9. (countable) A button (of a joypad, joystick or similar device) whose only or main current function is that when it is pressed causes a video game character to fire a weapon.
    Press fire to shoot the gun.

Derived terms

Terms derived from fire (noun)

Translations

oxidation reaction
something that has produced or is capable of producing this chemical reaction
occurrence of fire in a certain place
alchemy: one of the four basic elements
India and Japan: one of the five basic elements
heater or stove
the elements of a fire
in-flight bullets
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

fire (third-person singular simple present fires, present participle firing, simple past and past participle fired)

  1. (transitive) To set (something) on fire.
    • 1897, H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man Chapter 20,
      "Then I slipped up again with a box of matches, fired my heap of paper and rubbish, put the chairs and bedding thereby, led the gas to the affair, by means of an india-rubber tube, and waving a farewell to the room left it for the last time."
      "You fired the house!" exclaimed Kemp.
      "Fired the house. It was the only way to cover my trail—and no doubt it was insured."
    • 1907, Jack London, The Iron Heel
      It was long a question of debate, whether the burning of the South Side ghetto was accidental, or whether it was done by the Mercenaries; but it is definitely settled now that the ghetto was fired by the Mercenaries under orders from their chiefs.
  2. (transitive) To heat 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.
  3. (transitive) To drive away by setting a fire.
  4. (transitive) To terminate the employment contract of (an employee), especially for cause (such as misconduct or poor performance).
    • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin 2011, p. 226:
      The first, obvious choice was hysterical and fantastic Blanche – had there not been her timidity, her fear of being ‘fired’ [...].
  5. (transitive) To shoot (a device that launches a projectile or a pulse of stream of something).
    We will fire our guns at the enemy.
    He fired his radar gun at passing cars.
  6. (intransitive) To shoot a gun, a cannon or a similar weapon.
    Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.
    His nail gun fired about twenty roofing nails a minute.
  7. (transitive, sports) To shoot; to attempt to score a goal.
    • 2010 December 29, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal”, BBC:
      Andrey Arshavin equalised with a superb volley into the corner before Nicklas Bendtner coolly fired Arsenal in front.
  8. (intransitive, physiology) To cause an action potential in a cell.
    When a neuron fires, it transmits information.
  9. (transitive) To forcibly direct (something).
    He answered the questions the reporters fired at him.
  10. (intransitive, computer sciences, software engineering) To initiate an event (by means of an event handler)
    The event handler should only fire after all web page content has finished loading.

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • (to terminate the employment): hire

Derived terms

Terms derived from the verb to fire

Translations

to set on fire — see set on fire
to heat pottery, etc.
to drive away by setting a fire
to terminate the employment of
transitive: to shoot
intransitive: to shoot
sport: to shoot, to attempt to score a goal
physiology: to cause action potential in a cell
to forcibly direct
computer sciences / software engineering: to initiate an event
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Statistics

External links

Anagrams

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Crimean Tatar

Noun

fire

  1. shrinkage, loss
  2. scrap
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Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse fjórir, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres (“four”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fiːrə/, [ˈfiːɐ]

Numeral

fire

  1. (cardinal) four

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German fīren, from French virer (“bear, veer”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fiːrə/, [ˈfiːɐ]

Verb

fire (imperative fir, infinitive at fire, present tense firer, past tense firede, past participle har firet)

  1. to lower, to let down
  2. to slacken, to ease
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Norwegian

Etymology

From Old Norse fjórir, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from *kʷetwṓr, the neuter form of Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres.

Cardinal number

fire

  1. (cardinal) Four.

Derived terms

Verb

å fire (present tense firer; past tense fira/firet/firte; past participle fira/firet/firt; present participle firende)

  1. slacken, ease.
  2. lower (a flag).
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Romanian

Etymology 1

Noun

fire n pl

  1. Plural form of fir

Etymology 2

fi +‎ -re

Noun

fire

  1. essence, substance, nature
  2. character, temper, disposition
  3. mind
Synonyms
Related terms
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Last modified on 19 May 2013, at 09:15