fiery

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English firi, also spelled fuyri, furi, vuiri and feri,^[2][3][4] formed from Middle English fir (“fire”) + -y.^[4][5][6][7] The spelling with “ie” reflects the different ways of writing the vowel of Old English fȳr (“fire”) in Middle English.^[3][4] The OED compares Old Frisian fiūrich, Middle Dutch vurich, Middle Low German vurich and Middle High German viuric, the source of feurig.^[6] Old English had adjectives such as fȳren (“of fire, fiery”) and fȳrhāt (“hot as fire”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Consisting of or attended by fire, in religious contexts: before 1300, in the Passion our Lord;^[6] Etymonline dates "flaming, full of fire" to the late 13th century.^[3] Barnhart's first form is fuyri, about 1300.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From about 1300 the word also meant red-hot, causing a burning sensation, and of arrows or darts, fire-bearing.^[6] The sense "brightly glowing, of the colour of fire" is recorded from before 1387 in Trevisa,^[6] or about 1400 in Etymonline.^[3] Applied to feelings it meant "vehement, ardent" from about 1325, and to people "passionate, spirited" from about 1430, in Chaucer's Legend of Good Women;^[6] Chaucer used the word 11 times and Gower 20.^[8] The sense "hot-tempered, irascible" followed before 1540.^[6] Medical use for inflamed skin dates from 1600, and in coal mining fiery has described gas liable to ignite, and a mine containing it, since 1657.^[6] In Scottish dialect a fiery bron was a blazing peat used as a signal, and in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire hay was called fiery when it held many fire-leaves.^[9]

Timeline

• before 1300 – consisting of or attended by fire.^[6]
• c. 1300 – red-hot; burning; of arrows, fire-bearing.^[6][4]
• c. 1325 – of feelings, ardent, vehement.^[6]
• before 1387 – glowing, of the colour of fire.^[6]
• c. 1430 – of people, passionate, spirited.^[6]
• before 1540 – hot-tempered.^[6]
• 1600 – of the skin, inflamed.^[6]
• 1657 – of gas or a mine, liable to explode.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Consisting of fire, or burning and flaming.^[10][5][6]
2. Like fire in heat or colour; glowing red: a fiery sunset over the bay.^[10][5][6]
3. Full of strong feeling; passionate or spirited: a fiery sermon.^[10][5][6]
4. Easily angered; irascible.^[10][6]
5. Of food or drink, causing a burning feeling in the mouth.^[10][6]
6. Of the skin or a sore, inflamed.^[10][6]
7. Of gas or a mine, liable to catch fire or explode.^[10][6]

Word family

• fierily
• fieriness
• unfiery
• fiery cross

Related words

• fire
• firedrake

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
10. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins