Fire Definition
- Being attacked from two sources or sides simultaneously.
- Ignited; ablaze.
- Filled with enthusiasm or excitement.
- To urge or goad to action.
- Exposed or subjected to enemy attack.
- Exposed or subjected to critical attack or censure:
an official who was under fire for mismanagement.
- between two attacks; shot at, criticized, etc. from both sides
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Fire
- between two fires
- on fire
- start
- under fire
- between two fires
- catch (on) fire
- fire away
- fire up
- go through fire and water
- on fire
- open fire
- play with fire
- set fire to
- set the world on fire
- strike fire
- take fire
- under fire
Origin of Fire
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From Middle English fier, from Old English fȳr (“fire”), from *fuïr, a regularised form of Proto-Germanic *fōr (“fire”) (compare Saterland Frisian Fjuur, West Frisian fjoer, Dutch vuur, Low German Für, German Feuer, Danish fyr), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂ur (compare Hittite (paḫḫur), Umbrian pir, Tocharian A/B por/puwar, Czech pýř (“hot ashes”), Ancient Greek πῦρ (pur, “fire”), Armenian հուր (hur, “fire”)) and perhaps Albanian prush (“embers”). This was an inanimate noun whose animate counterpart was Proto-Indo-European *h₁ngʷnis, *h₁ngʷni-.
From Wiktionary
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Middle English fir from Old English fȳr paəwr̥ in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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