fur

B1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /fɝ/ UK /fɜː/ See IPA manual

Homophones

fir /fɝ/

Freq #5401

Meanings

1

noun
The soft, thick hair that covers many animals.

The cat's fur was soft and warm.
2

noun
An animal's hairy skin used to make or line clothing.

Britain once used Canada as a major source of furs.
3

noun
A coat or garment made of fur.

She wrapped herself in her furs against the cold.
4

verb
To become coated with a fur-like layer.

The pipes furred up so quickly that they had to be replaced.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · an animal's hairy skin used... pelt

Word family

Forms furredfurringfurs

Derived forms antifurbabyfurbefurbodyfurcat-furdefurdiaperfurdogfureveryfurfur-flyingfurbabyfurball

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

muskrat fur
the brown fur of a muskrat, used as a material

Noun + noun
beaver fur
the dense, soft hair covering a beaver, also used as a material

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English furre, forre, from Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre (“a case; sheath”), from Frankish *fōdar, from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”) (compare Old English fōdor (“sheaf”), Dutch voering (“lining”), German Futter (“lining”), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌳𐍂 (fōdr, “sheath”)), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-, *poh₂- (“to protect”) (compare Lithuanian piemuō (“protection”), Ancient Greek πῶῠ̈ (pôŭ̈, “flock”), πῶμα (pôma, “lid”), ποιμήν (poimḗn, “shepherd”), Old Armenian հաւրան (hawran, “herd, flock”), Northern Kurdish pawan (“to watch over”), Sanskrit पाति (pāti, “he watche…

furre Middle English forre xno *fōdar frk *fōdr Proto-West Germanic *fōdrą Proto-Germanic *peh₂- Proto-Indo-European furren Middle English furrer xno

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# fur

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /fɝ/
**IPA (UK):** /fɜː/
**Frequency rank:** 5401

## Meanings
1. The soft, thick hair that covers many animals.
2. An animal's hairy skin used to make or line clothing.
3. A coat or garment made of fur.
4. To become coated with a fur-like layer.

## Examples
- The cat's fur was soft and warm.
- Britain once used Canada as a major source of furs.
- She wrapped herself in her furs against the cold.
- The pipes furred up so quickly that they had to be replaced.

## Derived Forms
- antifur
- babyfur
- befur
- bodyfur
- cat-fur
- defur
- diaperfur
- dogfur
- everyfur
- fur-flying
- furbaby
- furball

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: furre
- Root: forre
- Root: *fōdar
- Root: *fōdr
- Root: *fōdrą
- Root: *peh₂-
- Root: furren
- Root: furrer

## Etymology
From Middle English furre, forre, from Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre (“a case; sheath”), from Frankish *fōdar, from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”) (compare Old English fōdor (“sheaf”), Dutch voering (“lining”), German Futter (“lining”), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌳𐍂 (fōdr, “sheath”)), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-, *poh₂- (“to protect”) (compare Lithuanian piemuō (“protection”), Ancient Greek πῶῠ̈ (pôŭ̈, “flock”), πῶμα (pôma, “lid”), ποιμήν (poimḗn, “shepherd”), Old Armenian հաւրան (hawran, “herd, flock”), Northern Kurdish pawan (“to watch over”), Sanskrit पाति (pāti, “he watche…

## AI Etymology
Fur comes from Middle English furre, forre, from Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre (“a case; sheath”), from Frankish *fōdar, from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”) (compare Old English fōdor (“sheaf”), Dutch voering (“lining”), German Futter (“lining”), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌳𐍂 (fōdr, “sheath”)), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-, *poh₂- (“to protect”) (compare Lithuanian piemuō (“protection”), Ancient Greek πῶῠ̈ (pôŭ̈, “flock”), πῶμα (pôma, “lid”), ποιμήν (poimḗn, “shepherd”), Old Armenian հաւրան (hawran, “herd, flock”), Northern Kurdish pawan (“to watch over”), Sanskrit पाति. In current use, the main senses are “The soft, thick hair that covers many animals” and “An animal's hairy skin used to make or line clothing”.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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fur