fur

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The soft, thick hair that covers many animals.

   The cat's fur was soft and warm.

2. 2
   noun

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

   Britain once used Canada as a major source of furs.

3. 3
   noun

   A coat or garment made of fur.

   She wrapped herself in her furs against the cold.

4. 4
   verb

   To become coated with a fur-like layer.

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

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…

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