andiron
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English
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Fireplace_boston_manor_3207.jpg/220px-Fireplace_boston_manor_3207.jpg)
Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English aundire, aundiren, from Old French andier (possibly from Gaulish anderon (“heifer”)) compare Welsh anner, annair (“heifer”), Breton annoar (“heifer”), from Proto-Celtic *anderā (“young woman”), due either to their somewhat animal-like appearance of four legs or to the prominent figuring of bull and heifer design elements; compare its alternative names of fire-dog and dog-iron. Spelling influenced by iron.
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /ˈændaɪə(ɹ)n/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Noun
[edit]andiron (plural andirons)
- (usually in the plural) A utensil for supporting wood when burning in a fireplace, one being placed on each side
- Synonym: (chiefly US) fire dog
- 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter 7, in The House Behind the Cedars:
- The furniture was old-fashioned and massive. The great brass andirons on the wide hearth stood like sentinels proclaiming and guarding the dignity of the family. The spreading antlers on the wall testified to a mighty hunter in some past generation.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:andiron.
Translations
[edit]a utensil for supporting wood while burning
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Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Gaulish
- English terms derived from Proto-Celtic
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Fire