fire 
3. To inflame ; irritate the feelings or passions 
of : as, to fire one with anger or revenge. 
Lords are lordliest in their wine ; 
And the well-feasted priest then soonest tir>-/l 
With zeal, if aught religion seem concern'cl. 
Milton, S. A., 1. 1419. 
O'er prostrate towns and palaces they pass, . . . 
Breathing revenge ; whilst anger and disdain 
Fire every breast, and boil in every vein. 
Addison, Tile Campaign. 
simple device, and only signals and not messages are sent 
over the lines. Some fire-alarm telegraphs are also con- 
nected with private stations, and with thermostats or other 
automatic fire-alarms. 
fire-annihilator (fir'a-nl''hi-la-tor), n. An 
apparatus for extinguishing fire; a fire-extin- 
guisher. 
fire-ant (fir'ant), . An ant which stings se- 
verely, producing a burning sensation : a com- 
mon name in tropical countries of various spe- 
cies of stinging ants of the family Myrnifi-iiln: 
firearm (fir'arm), n. A weapon from which a 
missile, such as a bullet, cannon-ball, shell, etc., 
is expelled by the combustion of gunpowder or 
other similar explosive. Pistols, musTkets, can- 
non, etc., are firearms. 
I made a sign that I wanted to speak with one of them ; 
but seeing me surrounded with a number of horse and 
fire-anmf, they did not choose to trust themselves. 
Bruce, Source of the Nile, I. 157. 
It so fired his imagination that he wrote a description fi r( , armw tfir' ar'n't n An arrow frvrmprlv 
of it. a. w. Curtis, int. to Cecil Dreeme, p. io. nre-a,rrow (iir ar o),n. An arrow tormeny 
used, whether shot from a 
5. To drive out or away by fire. [Rare.] hand-bow or from an engine, 
He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven having combustibles attached 
And fire us hence. Shak., Lear, v. 3. to it for incendiary purposes. 
6. To subject to explosion or explosive force fireback (fir'bak), n. I. The 
by the application of fire (usually in the form of bac k wall of a furnace or fire- 
place. 2. A macartney 
4. To animate ; give life or spirit to. 
Truly to tread that virtuous patli you walk in, 
Sojir'd her honest soul, we thought her sainted. 
Fletcher, Loyal Subject, v. 2. 
Let Ambition fire thy Mind, 
Thou wert born o'er Men to Reign. 
Gangrene, Judgment of Paris. 
Virgil seldom rises into very astonishing sentiments 
where he is not fired by the Iliad. 
Addison, Spectator, No. 279. 
a spark, variously produced); discharge, send 
forth, or break up by explosion : as, to fire a 
gun or pistol; to fire a cannon-ball or a shell; 
to fire a blast or a mine. 
Let all the battlements their ordnance fire. 
Shak., Ilamlet, v. 2. 
Is that lead slow which is fired from a gun ? 
Shak., L. L. L., iii. 1. 
The German gnn fired 30 rounds in 16 minutes. 
Michaeli*, tr. of Monthaye's Krupp ami De Bange, p. 94. 
The unfortunate wretch who fired the train was killed 
by the explosion. 0. II'. Holmes, Old Vol. of Life, p. 25. 
7. To throw as a missile. [Colloq.] 
The boys were firing stones at the house at a great rate, 
and after a while the negroes began firing back with rocks, 
chunks, and broken bricks. 
Charleston (S. C.) Courier, Sept. 19, 1870. 
8. In vet. surg., to cauterize. 9. To illuminate 
strongly ; make to shine as if on fire. 
When, from under this terrestrial ball, 
He [the sun] fires the proud tops of the eastern pines. 
Shale., Kich. II., iii. 2. 
10. To eject, dismiss, or expel forcibly or per- 
emptorily: commonly with out. See to fire out 
(ft), below. [Slang, U. S.] - A ball fired, in her. 
See ftoKl. To fire Off, to discharge as a missile, literally 
or figuratively. 
Mr. Moon was one of the Dean's adversaries, and fired 
off a. pamphlet against him. 
British and Foreir/n Evangelical Jier. 
To fire out. (a) To drive out by or as if by fire. [Kare. ] 
Yet this shall I ne'er know, but live in doubt, 
Till my bad angel fire my good one out. 
Shak., Sonnets, cxliv. 
If any wench should offer to keep possession of my 
heart against my will, I'd fire her out with sack and sugar. 
._. ._ or 
fire-backed pheasant, of the 
genus Euplocamus, as E. igni- 
tus. 
fire-backed (fir'bakt), a. Hav- 
ing the plumage of the back of 
a fiery color : as, a fire-backed 
pheasant. 
fire-ball (fir'bal), . 1. A ball 
of fire, as the sun. 
Tiiey trudge under the fire-ball in 
the firmament. 
Livingston's Ltfe-Work, p. 358. 
2. Milit., a ball filled with ex- 
plosives or combustibles, in- 
tended to be thrown among 
enemies, to injure them by H ' c I 'J c " n J t ;j!e' s aml 
explosion, to set fire to their (From vioiiet-ie- 
works and expose their move- SaJtaaSk?') Mo ~ 
ments, or simply to produce 
the last result by the light of its own combus- 
tion. 3. Globe-lightning; an electrical phe- 
nomenon sometimes seen in thunder-storms, 
having the appearance of a globe of fire falling 
from the clouds and often bursting with a loud 
report. 
The fire-ball is almost incomparably less brilliant than 
forked lightning, because, though it lasts long enough to 
give the full Impression of its brightness, it is rarely bright- 
er than iron in the state which we call "red-hot." 
P. G. Tail, Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 330. 
4. A ball composed of very fine anthracite 
coal or dust and clay, used to kindle fires. 5. 
The scarlet lychnis, Lychnis Chalcedonica. 6. 
In her., same as ball fired (which see, under 
ball 1 ) : as, afire-ball fired in four places. 
(6) To eject, expel, or dismiss forcibly or peremptorily ; 
discharge from employment; bounce: in allusion to the 
discharge of a cannon-ball. [Slang, U. S. ] To fire up, 
to kindle the fires of, as an engine. 
Il.intratis. 1. To take fire; be kindled. 2. 
To be or become heated, irritated, or inflamed: 
as, his feet fire easily in walking. [Colloq.] 
3. To become excited ; become irritated or in- 
flamed with passion. See to fire tip (b), below. 
I grow full of anger, Sir Lucius ! I fire apace! 
Chapman, May-Day, i. 1. fire-balloon'(fir'ba-lon"), ". 1. A balloon be- 
neath and attached to which is a fire by which 
the air contained in it is heated and rarefied, 
fire-clay 
fire-blast (fir 'blast), . A disease of hops, 
chiefly occurring toward the latter periods of 
their growth, in which they appear as if burned 
by fire. 
fire-blight (fir'blit). . Same as pear-blight 
(which see, under blight). 
fireboard (fir'bord), n. A board used to close 
a fireplace in summer. Also called chimney- 
bnard. 
fire-boat (fir'bot), . A steamboat fitted with 
steam-pumps, hose, and other appliances for 
extinguishing fires: used along river-fronts to 
protect the shipping and docks. 
firebody (fir'bod'i), n. A kind of compound 
ascidian; a species of the genus I'yrosoma or 
family Pyrosomatida? : a book-name, or literal 
translation of the generic name. 
fire-boom (flr'bom), ,. One of a number of 
booms projecting from the side of a ship close 
to the water, and connected at their outer ends 
by ropes, designed to keep off fire-ships and 
-rafts. 
fire-bote (fir'bot), . [<fire + bate, i. e., boofl. 
Not found in ME. or AS.] In lam, an allow- 
ance of fuel which a tenant of land is entitled 
to take from it. 
There are a great number of pollard trees standing and 
growing upon the commons aforesaid, the crops whereof 
as they grow are usually cut by the copiehoulders of the 
sayd maner, and taken and converted by them for fire- 
boote according to the custom thereof. 
Archtfoloffia, X. 443. 
fire-box (fir'boks), n. The box (generally made 
of copper) in which the fire in a locomotive is 
placed, surrounded on the outside by an iron 
casing which is separated from the copper fire- 
box by a space of about three inches all round, 
filled with water, to prevent the radiation of 
heat. 
firebrand (fir'brand), n. and a. [< ME. fyrc- 
brand, furbroiid (= G. feuerbrand); < fire + 
brand.} I. n. 1. A piece of wood kindled or on 
fire ; a piece of any burning substance. 
It semes that God made us in vayne 
When ... he made us for might els to dwelle 
In erth, bot to be fyrebrandes in helle. 
Hauipole, Prick of Conscience, 1. 7418. 
This in a Fire-brand may we see, whose Fire 
Doth in his Flame toward's natiue Heav'n aspire. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 2. 
As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and 
death. Prov. xxvi. 18. 
Hence 2. That which or one who sets on fire, 
literally or figuratively ; specifically, an incen- 
diary, in any sense ; especially, one who in- 
flames factions, or causes contention and mis- 
chief. 
We do not only contend, oppress, and tyrannise our- 
selves, but, as so many firebrand*, we set on and animate 
others. /;,.., Anat. of Mel., p. 440. 
3. In her., specifically, a torch. When ignited it 
is blazoned as firebrand inflamed. It is represented as a 
torch or as a pale or pallet raguly couped. In the latter 
case it is always inflamed at the top. 
II. o. Of an incendiary nature. [Rare.] 
Our firebrand brother, Paris, burns us all. 
Shale., T. and C., ii. 2. 
lated height. 
A fire-balloon 
Rose gem-like up before the dusky groves, 
And dropt a fairy parachute and past. 
Tennyson, Princess, 1'rol. 
fire-bar (fir'bar), . A bar of a grate. Also 
Sheridan, The Rivals, iii. 4. called furnace-bar. 
4. To discharge artillery or firearms : as, they firebaret, . [Of. AS. gloss "fyrbier, igniferus," 
fired on the town. 5. To discharge or throw fire-bearing, <fyr, fire, + beran, bear.] A bea- 
a missile or missiles. 6. To ring all the bells con. 
in a peal at once Fire away, begin ; go ahead ; do fire-barrel (fir'bar ! 'el), n. A hollow cylinder 
as you propose; go on. [Slang.] To fire up. (a) To start filled with various kinds of combustibles, used 
a fire m a furnace, a locomotive, etc. : as, the stoker fired in fire-shit>s to convev the fire to th sr,rmir) a 
(ft) To become i 
fired in fire-ships to convey the fire to the shrouds. 
He ... fired up, and stood vigorously on his defence. 
Macaulaif. 
nace: used for lining furnaces, etc. 
fire-bridge (fir'brij), . Alow wallof fire-brick, 
which in a reverberatory furnace separates the 
furnace from the hearth or working-place. Also 
called flame-bridge, flame-stop. 
fire-brieft (fir'bref), n. A circular letter soli- 
citing subscriptions for sufferers from a fire. 
Nares. 
We laugh at fire-briefs now, although they be 
Commended to us by his Majesty. 
Cartu-right, Poems (1651). 
fire-brigade (fir'bri-gad*), n. An organized 
signal or alarm of fire. There are various kinds of 
automatic fire-alarms; thus, an alarm may be given by 
the burning away of a cord which supports a weight that 
in falling sets in motion a clotkwork or rings a bell or by 
the expansion of mercury as the result of a rise in the tem- 
perature, by which it is caused to touch a wire and close an 
electric circuit, as in the thermostat Fire-alarm tele- 
graph, a telegraph system used to give an alarm of fire, 
comprising circuits from district stations to a central sta- 
tion, and circuits from the central station to church or oth- 
er bells or directly to fire-engine houses. When the second 
circuits are only to the engine-houses it is called a silent- 
alarm system, to distinguish it from a system where large 
bells are rung to inform the public of the location of a 
fire. The signal-boxes are controlled by a crank or some 
.* - MM* M* \*" vu. ji;, >(-. A bundle of brush- 
wood for lighting a fire : used in fire-ships. 
fire-beacon (fir'be"kon), n. In her., a beacon 
used as a bearing, it is represented as a cresset on 
a pole or mast, sometimes having a ladder leading up 
to it; or as a square box with posts at the corners, and 
shown to be of iron from the division of the plates, lx>lt- 
heads, etc. 
fire-bell (fir'bel) , n . A large bell used for sound- 
ing an alarm of fire. Such bells are now, in cities 
commonly sounded by electricity, the number of strokes 
indicating the district within which the fire occurs. 
fire-bill (fir'bil), n. Naut., a bill showing the 
proper distribution of the officers and crew on 
board a man-of-war in case of an alarm of fire. 
fire-bird (fir'berd), n. A popular name of the 
Baltimore oriole, Icterus galbula. See oriole. 
fire-bmsh (fir'brush), n. Abrush used to sweep 
a hearth. 
fire-bucket (fir'buk"et), . A bucket designed 
to be used to carry water for extinguishing a 
conflagration . 
firebug (fir'bug), n. An incendiary. [Colloq., 
U. S.] 
fire-cage (fir'kaj), n. An iron box or basket for 
holding fire ; a cresset. 
fire-chamber (fir'cham' l 'b6r), . The combus- 
tion-chamber of a puddling-furnace ; also, in 
general, that part of a furnace in which the fire 
is maintained. 
fire-chemiset, See chemise. 
fire-clay (fir'kla), . That kind of clay which 
is suitable for making articles which will not 
