fiery, a.
(ˈfaɪərɪ)
Forms: 3 furie, -y, fuyre, -i, -y, 4–6 fyre, -ie, -y, 4–7 firie, -y(e, (5 fery), 6–7 fierie, (6 fyeri), 6–9 fir(e)y, 6– fiery.
[f. fire n. + -y1. Cf. OFris. fiurech, Du. vurig, Da. fyrig, MHG. viurec, viuric (Ger. feurig).]
1. a. Consisting of or containing fire; flaming with fire. fiery-drake, fiery-dragon = fire-drake.
| c 1275 Passion 660 in O.E. Misc. 56 Þe holy gost heom com vp-on in fury tunge. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 39/175 A fiery Drake þar-opon: a-ȝein heom cominde huy seiȝe. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 183 For to wissen hem by night A firy piller hem alight. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 3 b, The holy goost appered on y⊇ apostles in fyry tonges. 1611 Bible Dan. iii. 23 These three men..fell downe bound into the midst of the burning fierie furnace. a 1800 Cowper Heroism 85 Where no volcano pours his fiery flood. a 1822 Shelley Satire upon Sat. 34 And rains on him like flakes of fiery snow. 1832 H. T. De la Beche Geol. Man. (ed. 2) 113 One vast flood of burning matter..rolling to and fro its ‘fiery surge’. |
| fig. 1866 B. Taylor Palm & Pine, Passion's fiery flood. |
b. Fire-bearing;
esp. of an arrow, dart, etc.
lit. and
fig.| c 1300 St. Brandan 332 Tho ther com in a furi arewe at a fenestre. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 706 Loue hath his firy dart so brenningly Ystiked thurgh my..hert. c 1500 Lancelot 1227 Loues fyre dart..smat one to the hart. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 447 He deals his fiery Bolts about. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 86 The Father of Day, with his fiery shafts. a 1822 Shelley To Italy 3 As the earthquake's fiery flight. |
c. In biblical allusions: Attended with or performed by a display of fire.
| 1847 Emerson Poems, Problem Wks. (Bohn) I. 401 Ever the fiery Pentecost Girds with one flame the countless host. 1850 Hare Mission Comf. 9 The firy baptism of the day of Pentecost. 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 233 The awful fiery Law [see Deut. xxxiii. 2]..delivered by God Himself. |
2. Depending on or performed by the agency of fire; in
fiery trial with reference to the testing of metals; also,
† of a metal, tested by fire.
† fiery weapons = fire-arms.
fiery wound: a wound inflicted by fire-arms.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. xxv. (1535) 127/1 He [Mars] dysposethe and makethe able to fyrye werkes and craftes. 1555 Philpot in Strype Eccl. Mem. III. App. xlviii. 156, I cownsel ye therfor to the fyeri Gold of the Deity of owre Christ. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres i. i. 2 The wars are much altered since the fierie weapons first came vp. Ibid. 3 Well wishing in my hart..that this infernall fierie engine had never bin found out. 1611 Bible 1 Pet. iv. 12 Thinke it not strange concerning the fiery triall which is to trie you. 1704 Pope Windsor For. 113 The whirring pheasant feels the fiery wound. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxiv. 395 The fiery trial which England went through. |
3. a. Having the appearance of fire; brightly glowing or flaming, of a blazing red.
| 14.. MS. Herald's Office in R. Glouc. (1724) 484 note, In whiche enetid appered in the West ii. sterres of fuyry colour. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxii. 252 Many sterres..fyl doun to the erth leuyng behynde hem fery bemes. 1561 Burn. Paules Ch. A ij, On Wednesday..was seene a marueilous great fyrie lightning. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. lxxv. 7 Flyeth firie light. 1601 ? Marston Pasquil & Kath. i. 208 Your nose is firie enough. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 6 The head, and back parts to the tail, are of a fiery colour. 1727 De Foe Syst. Magic i. iv. (1840) 102 These fiery appearances are nothing but certain collections of matter exhaled by the influence of the sun from the earth. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest xi, The sun threw a fiery gleam athwart the woods. 1878 Morley Crit. Misc., Carlyle 163 Veiled by purple or fiery clouds of anger. |
b. absol. or quasi-n. rare.
| 1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. I. xiv. 239 Hair amounting to a positive fiery. |
c. Of eyes (with mixture of sense 5): Flashing, glowing, ardent.
| 1568 R. Grafton Chron. (1812) II. 192 The king..having black eyes, which when he waxed angry, would seeme to be fyrie. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. ii. 186 Cicero Lookes with such Ferret and such fiery eyes. 1819 Shelley Cyclops 463 So will I, in the Cyclops fiery eye. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. I. 32 The dark fiery eye and marked features of the Neapolitan fisherman. |
4. a. Hot as fire; blazing, burning, red hot.
† fiery-triplicity: see
quot. 1730.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 105/146 Nomen huy pich and brum⁓ston..And ope hire nakede tendre bodi al-fuyri it casten. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6866 Þat, heo wolde þoru fury yre. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 461 Ony spark out of ane fyrie brand. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. §54. 115 The sword which is made fierie doth not only cut..but also burne. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 157 The fiery Suns too fiercely Play. 1726 tr. Gregory's Astron. I. Pref. 5 That the Sun and Stars were fiery or red-hot Stones. 1730–6 Bailey (folio), Fiery triplicity, are those signs of the zodiack which surpass the rest in fiery qualities, as Leo, Aries, and Sagittarius. 1744 Berkeley Siris §186 The throne of God appeared like a fiery flame. 1836 Macgillivray tr. Humboldt's Trav. xx. 291 The sky became clearer..and the atmosphere more fiery. |
| fig. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxviii. 140 Þe worde þat is fyry thorgh þe haly gast. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, i. iv. 87 Hath thy fierie heart so parcht thy entrayles? |
b. Of a tumour, etc.: Burning, inflamed.
fiery face: one affected by erysipelas.
| 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme ii. xliv. 291 Of these two ointments, the first is better for..skurfs, and firy faces. 1758 J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. Dict. (1771) B bb, Antrax, a red fiery Tumour. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 183 Bids a plague Kindle a fiery boil upon the skin. |
c. Acting like fire; productive of a burning sensation or inflammation.
| 1535 Coverdale Isa. xiv. 29 The frute shalbe a fyrie worme. 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 5 This is that fyrie serpent, that as many as looke vpon him should liue. 1611 Bible Num. xxi. 6 Fierie serpents. 1821 Shelley Hellas 553 Like a fiery plague breaks out anew. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. ii. ii. §15 The fiery taste of alcoholic liquors. |
d. Cricket. Causing the ball to fly up after pitching. (
Cf. fire n. A. 15.)
| 1877 C. Box Eng. Game Cricket xxvi. 450 Fiery, one of the ungenerous appellations a ground receives when it is hard, and probably not so verdant as a lawn or smooth as a billiard table. 1882 Austral. in Eng. 181 The wicket was fiery and the outfielding rough. 1893 Baily's Mag. Oct. 255/1 Fiery wickets are not at all desirable, since they introduce an element of danger into the game which is customarily absent. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 7 Aug. 11/2 Mr. Carr is indispensable to an England eleven on any wicket—fast, slow, crumbly, fiery. |
5. Of persons, their actions and attributes:
a. Ardent, eager, fierce, spirited.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2292 Philomene, He caste his fery herte up-on hyre. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 237 Sardana⁓pallus..Was..Fall into thilke firy rage Of love. 1529 More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. Wks. 1219/1 Y⊇ firye affeccion that we beare to our owne filthy fleshe. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iii. 54 Then fierie expedition be my wing. 1650 Hubert Pill Formality 24 Very fiery and zealous for the maintenance of Episcopacy. 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 156 A fiery Soul, which working out its way, Fretted the Pigmy-Body to decay. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 459 Adventures irresistibly attractive to his fiery nature. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. v. 290 Such fiery zeal implies the firmest belief. |
b. Fiercely irritable; easily moved to violent anger.
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iv. 53 Alas how fiery, and how sharpe he lookes. 1640 in Hamilton Papers (Camden) App. 259 His speeches did so fascinate the old fiery little man. 1710 Tatler No. 231 ¶2 A terrible Apprehension of his fiery Spirit. 1752 Young Brothers i. i, Rome calls me fiery: Let her find me so! 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. (ed. 3) II. 273 The signor and this fiery Montagu exchanged some fierce looks. 1852 C. M. Yonge Cameos II. xv. 163 Charles, in his fiery petulance, declared that he would go. |
c. Of a horse: Mettlesome, spirited.
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, v. ii. 8 The Duke..Mounted vpon a hot and fierie Steed. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 130 The fiery Courser..Pricks up his Ears. 1827 Lytton Pelham x, My horse was..the most fiery..in Paris. |
6. Of a vapour,
esp. gas in a mine: Liable to take fire, highly inflammable. Hence of a mine, etc.: Containing inflammable gas, liable to explosions from firedamp.
| 1751 R. Pococke Trav. Eng. (1888) I. 206 They are much troubled with what they call fiery air..When it is very bad, they let down a candle by a rope, to set fire to the fiery damp, as they call it. Ibid. 207 Nothing but the vapours or fiery damp that come out of the spring. 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 27 A furnace of the width of 10 feet..will..be sufficient for any mine, however fiery. 1868 Daily News 30 Nov., The seam of coal was known to be..a fiery one. 1887 Ibid. 30 May 5/3 Both pits are situated in what the miners..call a ‘fiery’ district. |
7. attrib. and
Comb. a. adverbial, as
fiery-bright,
fiery-fierce,
fiery-flaming,
fiery-hot,
fiery-kindled,
fiery-liquid,
fiery-rash,
fiery-red,
fiery-seeming,
fiery-shining,
fiery-short,
fiery-sparkling,
fiery-twinkling.
b. parasynthetic, as
fiery-faced,
fiery-footed,
fiery-helmed,
fiery-hoofed,
fiery-mouthed,
fiery-pointed,
fiery-spangled,
fiery-spirited,
fiery-sworded,
fiery-tressed,
fiery-visaged,
fiery-wheeled,
fiery-winged. Also,
fiery-new,
† (
a)
= brand-new obs. (
cf. fire-new); (
b) of wine, not yet mellowed;
fiery-puissant,
transl. of L.
ignipotens, working powerfully with fire.
| 1531 Elyot Gov. ii. vi, The eien *firye bright. 1594 Spenser Amoretti xvi, Legions of loves..Darting their deadly arrowes, fyry bright. |
| 1588 Fraunce Lawiers Log. Ded., A raging and *fireyfaced Aristotelean. |
| 1819 Shelley Cyclops 486 The Cyclops' eye so *fiery fierce. |
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. Columnes 469 David..Holds a fierce Lyon's *fiery flaming Crest. |
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xii. 2 Scarcely had Phœbus..harnessed his *fyrie-footed team. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. ii. 1 Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds. 1748 Thomson Cast. Indol. ii. xxxii, A fiery-footed boy, Benempt Dispatch. |
| 1715–20 Pope Iliad xx. 52 In aid of Troy..came, Mars *fiery-helm'd. |
| 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. i. 3 Where Titan still vnyokes his *fiery-hoofed Teame. |
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xi. xiii. (1495) 398 Whan *firy hote yren is quenchyd in water. |
| 14.. Hoccleve Compl. Virgin 221 Now thow art frosty cold now *fyry hoot. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cxiv, Some wild Pallas..fiery-hot to burst Al barriers. |
| 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 358 Backe to the stained field You equall Potents, *fierie kindled spirits. |
| 1655 H. Vaughan Silex Scint. i. Midnight (1858) 54 Thy heav'ns..Are a *firie-liquid light. |
| 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. viii. 40 The *firie-mouthed steedes. |
| 1644 Feast of Feasts 2 Take a taste of their new, *fiery-new Divinity. 1842 Tennyson Will Waterproof 98 The vintage, yet unkept, Had relish, fiery-new. |
| 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 372 The fair and *fiery-pointed sun. |
| 1573 Twyne æneid x. E e j, Take that shield which..The *fyrypuissant god unvict gaue thee. |
| 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 212 Which *fierie-rash temper of his. |
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. iii. 58 Here come the Lords..*fierie red with haste. 1846 G. E. Day tr. Simon's Anim. Chem. II. 228 The urine was usually of a fiery-red colour. |
| 1628 F. Fletcher Drake's Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 149 An infinite swarme of *fierie-seeming wormes flying in the aire. |
| 1594 ? Greene Selimus Wks. XIV. 288 Mars..Mounted vpon his *firie-shining waine. |
| 1847 Tennyson Princ. v. 297 *Fiery-short was Cyril's counter-scoff. |
| 1586 Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. v. ii, Even from the *fiery-spangled bed of heaven. |
| 1596 C. Fitzgeffrey Sir F. Drake (1881) 63 The *fierie-sparkling precious Chrysolite. |
| 1652 J. Wright tr. Camus' Nature's Paradox 266 The *fiery-spirited Beast..carried Liante towards the besieger's Trenches. |
| 1821 Byron Cain i. i, Guarded by *fiery-sworded cherubim. |
| 1745–6 Collins Ode to Liberty 97 The *fiery-tressed Dane..o'erturn'd the fane. |
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 15 'Mong..*fiery twinkling gleams Of warm vermilion swords. |
| 1813 Shelley Q. Mab vii. 87 The *fiery-visaged firmament expressed Abhorrence. |
| 1632 Milton Penseroso 51 The *fiery-wheeléd throne. |
| 1757 Dyer Fleece iv. 211 *Fiery-winged winds..rous'd by sudden storms. |
c. In the names of birds and animals:
fiery-brandtail, the redstart (
Ruticilla phœnicurus);
fiery-flare,
-flaw = fire-flaire, the sting-ray;
fiery-tangs,
dial. (see
quot.);
fiery-topaz, a species of humming bird.
| 1813 J. Headrick Agric. Surv. Forfars. App. 55 Both these species [crab and lobster] are called in Angusshire..Firy-tangs. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Fiery-flaw or fire-flaire, a northern designation of the sting-ray (Raia pastinaca). 1868 Wood Homes without H. xxix. 554 The oddly shaped nest..is made by the Fiery Topaz (Topaza pyra). 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Fiery-bran'tail, the Redstart. |