firse
Middle English
Alternative forms
- fyrs, furs, ferse, forse, fyrrys, vors, virs
Etymology
From Old English fyrs, fyres, of unknown origin, but compare fyr (“fire”) and Proto-Slavic *pyrь (“couch grass”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfirz/, /ˈfurz/, /ˈfɛrz/
Noun
firse (plural firses or firsen)
- Furze or gorse (Ulex europaeus)
- a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “Isaiah 55:13”, in Wycliffe's Bible:
- A fir tre ſchal grow for a firse, and a mirte tre ſchal wexe for a nettil; and the Lord ſchal be nemyd in to a ſigne euerlaſtynge, that ſchal not be doon awei.
- A fir tree will grow instead of gorse, and a myrtle will grow instead of a nettle, and the Lord will be named for this everlasting sign that won't be done away with.
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- (rare) Clumps of furze for use in fires.
Descendants
- English: furze
References
- “firs(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-1-7.