iron

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A common hard grey metal that rusts and is used to make steel

   The old gate was made of solid iron.

2. 2
   noun

   A device with a flat heated base, used to press wrinkles out of clothes

   She switched on the iron to press her shirt.

3. 3
   adj

   Very strong and impossible to change

   She had an iron will and never gave up.

4. 4
   noun

   A golf club used for medium-distance shots

   He chose an iron for his second shot to the green.

Common collocations

• ironing board Adjective + noun
• iron clothes Verb + noun
• iron pants Verb + noun

From Middle English iren, from Old English īsern, īsærn, īren, īsen, from Proto-West Germanic *īsarn, from Proto-Germanic *īsarną (“iron”), from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom (“iron”), possibly a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”). Cognates Cognate with Scots airn, ern (“iron”), Yola eeren (“iron”), Saterland Frisian Iersen (“iron”), West Frisian izer (“iron”), Bavarian Eisn (“iron”), Cimbrian aizarn (“iron”), Dutch ijzer (“iron”), German, Luxembourgish Eisen (“iron”), German Low German Isen (“iron”), Limburgish iezer (“iron”), Mòcheno aisn (“iron”), Vilamovian ȧjza (“iron”), West…

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