fur

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fɜː/ (UK); /fɝ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English furre, probably from the verb furren, to line or trim with fur,^[2][3][4] from Old French forrer, fourrer, to line, sheathe, cover,^[2][5] from fuerre, a sheath, covering,^[2][5][4] from Frankish *fodr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdram, sheath, source also of German Futter (“lining”) and Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌳𐍂 (fōdr), scabbard,^[5][2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *pō-, to protect.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A trimming or lining of a garment, made of animal skin: the verb furred about 1300, the noun the late 14th century (about 1366 in the OED), and earlier the surname Furhode, a fur hood (1301).^[5][6][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense moved from the lining to the material it was made of, probably in English.^[5] The soft hair of animals such as sable or beaver is from about 1430,^[6] and skins with the fur on from 1555.^[6] Fur as a mark of office is from 1634,^[6] and in heraldry from 1610.^[6] Fur and feather, furred animals and game birds, is from 1827.^[6] To make the fur fly, from the effect of a good shot in hunting, appears in Butler's Hudibras (1663).^[5] A coating like fur, as on the tongue or in a kettle, is from the 17th century.^[4] A longer Middle English form, furrure, forour, died out in the late 15th century.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – furred.^[5]
• c. 1366 – a fur trimming.^[6]
• c. 1430 – the hair of animals.^[6]
• 1555 – pelts.^[6]
• 1663 – make the fur fly.^[5]
• 1827 – fur and feather.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The thick coat of soft hair of a mammal such as a fox or mink.
2. The dressed pelt of such an animal, or a garment made of it.
3. A fabric imitating animal fur.
4. A coating like fur, as on the tongue or inside a kettle.

Verb

1. To cover, line or trim with fur.
2. To coat with a deposit like fur.

Word family

• furless
• furred

Related words

• furry
• furrier

Usage notes

In Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk dialect, fur was a name for gorse.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ 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)