iron

Etymology

From Middle English iren, from Old English īsern, īsærn, īren, īsen, from Proto-West Germanic *īsarn, from Proto-Germanic *īsarną (“iron”), from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom (“iron”), a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”).

noun

1. (uncountable) A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel: a chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe.
   For quotations using this term, see Citations:iron.
2. (uncountable, countable, metallurgy) Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron.
   wrought iron, ductile iron, cast iron, pig iron, gray iron
3. (countable) A tool or appliance made of metal, which is heated and then used to transfer heat to something else; most often a thick piece of metal fitted with a handle and having a flat, roughly triangular bottom, which is heated and used to press wrinkles from clothing, and now usually containing an electrical heating apparatus.
4. (usually in the plural, irons) Shackles.
5. (slang) A firearm, either a long gun or a handgun.
   Ah, throw that old iron over here! We'll pick it up and go on our way. 1948, John Huston, Treasure of the Sierra Madre
   the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip 1959, Marty Robbins (lyrics and music), “Big Iron”
6. (uncountable) A dark shade of the color silver.
7. (countable, Cockney rhyming slang, offensive, shortened from iron hoof, rhyming with poof) A male homosexual.
8. (golf) A golf club used for middle-distance shots.
   The brassey much resembled the driver, but the iron opened out quite a new field of practice; […] 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major
9. (uncountable, figurative) Used as a symbol of great strength or toughness, or to signify a very strong or tough material.
   ironman; a will of iron
   He appeared easygoing, but inside he was pure iron.
10. (weightlifting) Weight used as resistance for the purpose of strength training.
    He lifts iron on the weekends.
11. (countable, astronomy, geology) A meteorite consisting primarily of metallic iron (mixed with a small amount of nickel), as opposed to one composed mainly of stony material.
    Irons and stony irons can be much larger than stony meteorites and are much more visually striking, but make up only a few percent of all meteorites.
12. A safety curtain in a theatre.
13. (military, slang) Dumb bombs, those without guidance systems.

adj

1. (not comparable) Made of the metal iron.
2. (figurative) Strong (as of will), inflexible.
   She had an iron will.
   He held on with an iron grip.
   an iron constitution
   Iron men
   And it is symptomatic of the many paradoxes of Lederer's life that of all the people in the room, Brotherhood is the one whom he would most wish to serve, if ever he had the opportunity, even though — or perhaps because — his occasional efforts to ingratiate himself with his adopted hero have met with iron rebuff. 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy
   But in her speech, Truss said she would exert an “iron discipline” over public spending, hinting at possible austerity to come. “I believe in sound money and a lean state,” she said. 2022-10-05, Rowena Mason, quoting Liz Truss, “Liz Truss promises ‘growth, growth and growth’ in protest-hit speech”, in The Guardian

verb

1. (transitive) To pass an iron over (clothing or some other item made of cloth) in order to remove creases.
   You'd be wise to iron that shirt before you wear it.
   Out of that tub had come the day before - Tess felt it with a dreadful sting of remorse - the very white frock upon her back which she had so carelessly greened about the skirt on the damping grass - which had been wrung up and ironed by her mother's own hands. 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 30
2. (intransitive) To engage in such pressing of clothing.
   They were washing and ironing all morning.
3. (transitive, archaic) To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff.
   … is it he who is ironed like a malefactor—who is to be dragged on a hurdle to the common gallows—to die a lingering and cruel death, and to be mangled by the hand of the most outcast of wretches? 1814, Walter Scott, Waverley
4. (transitive) To furnish, clad, or arm with iron.
   to iron a wagon