Fire

Fire, fīr, n. the heat and light caused by burning: flame: anything burning, as fuel in a grate, &c.: a conflagration: torture or death by burning: severe trial: anything inflaming or provoking: ardour of passion: vigour: brightness of fancy: enthusiasm: sexual passion.—v.t. to set on fire: to inflame: to irritate: to animate: to cause the explosion of: to discharge.—v.i. to take fire: to be or become irritated or inflamed: to discharge firearms.—n. Fire′-alarm′, an alarm of fire, an apparatus for giving such.—n.pl. Fire′arms, arms or weapons which are discharged by fire exploding gunpowder.—ns. Fire′-ar′row, a small iron dart or arrow furnished with a combustible for setting fire to ships; Fire′ball, a ball filled with combustibles to be thrown among enemies: a meteor; Fire′-balloon′, a balloon carrying a fire placed in the lower part for rarefying the air to make itself buoyant: a balloon sent up arranged to ignite at a certain height; Fire′-bas′ket, a portable grate for a bedroom; Fire′-blast, a blast or blight affecting plants, in which they appear as if scorched by the sun; Fire′-boat, a steamboat fitted up to extinguish fires in docks; Fire′box, the box or chamber (usually copper) of a steam-engine, in which the fire is placed; Fire′brand, a brand or piece of wood on fire: one who inflames the passions of others; Fire′brick, a brick so made as to resist the action of fire, used for lining furnaces, &c.; Fire′-brigade′, a brigade or company of men for extinguishing fires or conflagrations; Fire′-buck′et, a bucket for carrying water to extinguish a fire; Fire′clay, a kind of clay, capable of resisting fire, used in making firebricks; Fire′cock, a cock or spout to let out water for extinguishing fires; Fire′damp, a gas, carburetted hydrogen, in coal-mines, apt to take fire and explode when mixed with atmospheric air; Fire′-dog (same as Andiron); Fire′-drake, a fiery meteor, a kind of firework; Fire′-eat′er, a juggler who pretends to eat fire: one given to needless quarrelling, a professed duellist; Fire′-en′gine, an engine or forcing-pump used to extinguish fires with water; Fire′-escape′, a machine used to enable people to escape from fires.—adj. Fire′-eyed (Shak.), having fiery eyes.—ns. Fire′-flag (Coleridge), Fire′flaught (Swinburne), a flash of lightning; Fire′-fly, a name applied to many phosphorescent insects, all included with the Coleoptera or beetles, some giving forth a steady light, others flashing light intermittently (glow-worms, &c.); Fire′-guard, a framework of wire placed in front of a fireplace.—n.pl. Fire′-ī′rons, the irons—poker, tongs, and shovel—used for a fire.—ns. Fire′light′er, a composition of pitch and sawdust, or the like, for kindling fires; Fire′lock, a gun in which the fire is caused by a lock with steel and flint; Fire′man, a man whose business it is to assist in extinguishing fires: a man who tends the fires, as of a steam-engine; Fire′-mas′ter, the chief of a fire-brigade.—adj. Fire′-new, new from the fire: brand new: bright.—ns. Fire′-pan, a pan or metal vessel for holding fire; Fire′place, the place in a house appropriated to the fire: a hearth; Fire′plug, a plug placed in a pipe which supplies water in case of fire; Fire′-pol′icy, a written instrument of insurance against fire up to a certain amount; Fire′-pot, an earthen pot filled with combustibles, used in military operations.—adj. Fire′proof, proof against fire.—ns. Fire′-proofing, the act of rendering anything fireproof: the materials used; Fir′er, an incendiary; Fire′-rais′ing, the crime of arson.—adj. Fire′-robed (Shak.), robed in fire.—ns. Fire′-screen, a screen for intercepting the heat of the fire; Fire′-ship, a ship filled with combustibles, to set an enemy's vessels on fire; Fire′side, the side of the fireplace: the hearth: home.—adj. homely, intimate.—ns. Fire′-stick, the implement used by many primitive peoples for obtaining fire by friction; Fire′stone, a kind of sandstone that bears a high degree of heat; Fire′-wa′ter, ardent spirits; Fire′wood, wood for burning.—n.pl. Fire′works, artificial works or preparations of gunpowder, sulphur, &c., to be fired chiefly for display or amusement.—ns. Fire′-wor′ship, the worship of fire, chiefly by the Parsees in Persia and India; Fire′-wor′shipper; Fir′ing, a putting fire to: discharge of guns: firewood: fuel: cauterisation; Fir′ing-par′ty, a detachment told off to fire over the grave of one buried with military honours, or to shoot one sentenced to death; Fir′ing-point, the temperature at which an inflammable oil will take fire spontaneously.—Fire off, to discharge a shot; Fire out (Shak.), to expel; Fire up, to start a fire: to fly into a passion.—Set the Thames on fire, to do something striking; Take fire, to begin to burn: to become aroused about something. [A.S. fýr; Ger. feuer; Gr. pyr.]