firefighter
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:56. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Pronunciation
Etymology
It is a compound from English fire + fighter.[2][3][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
A person who fights fires: 1839, in C. M. Kirkland's A New Home—Who'll Follow?.[2] Other dictionaries date it later: Etymonline to 1895, Dictionary.com to 1900–05 and Merriam-Webster to 1903.[3][4][5]
Semantic evolution
The OED's current definition specifies a member of a fire service trained to put out fires and to carry out other emergency and rescue work.[2] Merriam-Webster distinguishes members of a city fire department, crews that fight forest fires and those who fight fires in mines,[5] and Collins notes that a firefighter is usually a public employee or a trained volunteer.[6] The noun firefighting is recorded slightly later than firefighter.[2]
Timeline
- 1839 – a person who fights fires.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1895 and Merriam-Webster to 1903.[3][5]
Meanings
Noun
- A person trained to put out fires, especially a member of a fire department or fire service; a fireman.[5][6][2][7]
- A member of a crew that fights forest fires.[5]
Word family
- firefighting
Related words
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
- ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster