Etymograph

English

fiery

Fiery comes from Middle English fyry ‘Burning, glowing’, from fyr ‘fire’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂wr̥1‘fire’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōr2‘fire’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fuir2‘fire’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳr2‘fire’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fyr3‘fire’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fyry3‘Burning, glowing’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1892fiery3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fōr
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English fyr
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English fiery
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, James Yoxall: “The desert storm was riding in its strength; the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂wr̥Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fōr‘fire’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōrWiktionary, Middle English fyr‘fire’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fuirWiktionary, Middle English fyr‘fire’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳrWiktionary, Middle English fyr‘fire’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fyrWiktionary, English fiery‘fire’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fyryWiktionary, English fiery‘Burning, glowing’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1892fieryWiktionary, English fiery. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, James Yoxall: “The desert storm was riding in its strength; the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ ‘fire’

bureau, poppy, burrito, bertram, pyre, pyro, pyrite, burro, 16 more

through Old English fȳr ‘fire’

furze

through Middle English fyr ‘fire’

fire

Today it means

adj Of or relating to fire.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fiery”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *fōr, Middle English fyr. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ / fiery

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