firn

See also: Firn

English

Etymology

Borrowed from German Firn, from Alemannic German firn (last year's), from Old High German firni (old), from Proto-Germanic *firnijaz, *fernaz (foregoing, previous), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (forth, forward, across, through); cognate with Old English fyrn (former), Old Norse forn (old), and Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 (fairneis, old).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

firn (countable and uncountable, plural firns)

  1. A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles and thus is made of numerous small icy grains, though it is not nearly as saturated with water as snow-cone slush is; can be hard or somewhat soft depending on recent and current weather conditions.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1993

Anagrams


German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈfɪʁn]
  • (file)

Adjective

firn (comparative firner, superlative am firnsten)

  1. (wine) aged

Declension

Further reading

  • firn in Duden online
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