fur English · revision 10460

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=fro forrer|origins=gem-pro *fōdrą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fɜː/ ''(UK)''; /fɝ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English furre, probably from the verb furren, to line or trim with fur,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) from Old French forrer, fourrer, to line, sheathe, cover,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from fuerre, a sheath, covering,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Frankish *fodr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdram, sheath, source also of German [[m|de|Futter|t=lining]] and Gothic fōdr, scabbard,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE *pō-, to protect.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==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).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense moved from the lining to the material it was made of, probably in English.^(Etymonline) The soft hair of animals such as sable or beaver is from about 1430,^(OED 1989) and skins with the fur on from 1555.^(OED 1989) Fur as a mark of office is from 1634,^(OED 1989) and in heraldry from 1610.^(OED 1989) ''Fur and feather'', furred animals and game birds, is from 1827.^(OED 1989) ''To make the fur fly'', from the effect of a good shot in hunting, appears in Butler's ''Hudibras'' (1663).^(Etymonline) A coating like fur, as on the tongue or in a kettle, is from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986) A longer Middle English form, furrure, forour, died out in the late 15th century.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – furred.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1366 – a fur trimming.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1430 – the hair of animals.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1555 – pelts.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1663 – make the fur fly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1827 – fur and feather.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The thick coat of soft hair of a mammal such as a fox or mink.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The dressed pelt of such an animal, or a garment made of it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A fabric imitating animal fur.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A coating like fur, as on the tongue or inside a kettle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover, line or trim with fur.^(AHD)

+ # To coat with a deposit like fur.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[furless]]

+ * [[furred]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[furry]]

+ * [[furrier]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk dialect, fur was a name for gorse.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}