fir

Etymology

From Middle English firre, from either Old Norse fýri (as in fýriskógr (“pine-wood”) or Old English fyrh, furh (as in furhwudu (“pinewood”), from Proto-West Germanic *furhu, from Proto-Germanic *furhō, *furhijǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *pŕ̥kʷeh₂, from *pérkʷus (“oak”). Germanic cognates include Dutch vuren, Low German Fuhr, German Föhre (“pine”), Danish fyr). Outside of Germanic, compare Italian (Trentino) porca (“fir”), Latin quercus (“oak”), Albanian shpardh, shparr (“Italian oak”), Punjabi ਪਰਗਾਇ (pargāī, “holm oak, Quercus baloot”)). Related to frith.

noun

1. (chiefly countable) A conifer of the genus Abies.
   A beech wood with silver firs in it rolled down the face of the hill, and the maze of leafless twigs and dusky spires cut sharp against the soft blueness of the evening sky. 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict
2. (chiefly countable) Any pinaceous conifer of related genera, especially a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga) or a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).
   we shall find a spot that is sheltered and snug enough, sir. There is a dry fir-wood just ahead, if I remember rightly. 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, chapter 3, in The Lord of the Rings
   I can almost smell the fir scent… resinous, pungent. 1991, Paul Chadwick, Concrete: American Christmas, Dark Horse Books
3. (uncountable) Wood of such trees.