fire
The phenomenon of combustion; burning heat and light.
Etymology
From Old English fȳr, from Proto-Germanic *fūr, from PIE *péh₂wr̥ "fire." The PIE *p- became f- in Germanic through Grimm's Law. Greek pŷr and English fire are thus cognates despite looking nothing alike. The word is well attested across the IE family.
The Journey: *péh₂wr̥ → fire
*péh₂wr̥
*fūr
fȳr
fyr, fire
fire
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *péh₂wr̥. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Czech | pýř (embers) |
| Greek | pŷr |
| Hittite | paḫḫur |
| Umbrian | pir |
| Armenian | hur |
| Tocharian B | por |
Did You Know?
The English word "pyre" (funeral fire) comes directly from Greek pŷr — which is a cousin of English "fire." Both descend from PIE *péh₂wr̥, but English inherited the Germanic f- while pyre was borrowed from Greek with its original p-.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *péh₂wr̥. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.