Etymograph

English

fire

Fire comes from Middle English fyr, from Old English fȳr ‘fire’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂wr̥1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōr1‘fire’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fuïr1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fuir1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳr1‘fire’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fyr1
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606fire1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fire
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “Stars, hide your fires.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂wr̥Wiktionary, English firereconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōrWiktionary, English fire‘fire’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fuïrWiktionary, English firereconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fuirWiktionary, English firereconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳrWiktionary, English fire‘fire’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fyrWiktionary, English fire
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606fireWiktionary, English fire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “Stars, hide your fires.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥

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

through Old English fȳr

furze

through Middle English fyr

fiery

Another origin of fire

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂wr̥reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōrreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fuirreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳr
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳrian‘to make a fire’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500firen
  7. Englishtodayfire

Today it means

noun A (usually self-sustaining) chemical reaction involving the bonding of oxygen with carbon or other fuel, with the production of heat and the presence of flame or smouldering.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fire”. 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 / fire

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