fire-holder 
2230 
fire-holder (fir'h61"der), . A receptacle for fire-main (fir'man), . A pipe for water to be 
carrying fire. See the extract. employed in case of conflagration. 
At a later period, the ;light for limiting the matches was fireman (fir'man), n. ; pi. firemen (-men). 1. 
carried by a slow-burning fuse contained in a metal case 
perforated with small holes to afford egress for the smoke. 
These fire-holders were usually attached to the girdle. 
W. W. Greener, The Gun, p. 45. 
fire-hole (fir'hol), w. A hole cut through the 
ice near a camp or a ship which has been frozen 
in, for the purpose of drawing water to extin- 
guish any accidental fire. 
The crew . . . had been employed in then* ordinary daily 
duties, such as cleaning decks, keeping the fire-hole open, 
procuring ice, and other like work. 
C. F. Hall, Polar Exp., p. 217. 
fire-hook (fir'huk), . [< ME. fuyrehoke (= D. 
vuurhaak = MLG. vurhake = G. feuerhaken = 
ODan. fyrhage); < fire + hook.} 1. A strong 
iron hook used at fires in tearing away burning 
timbers, etc. Such hooks are usually operated 
by a special corps called a hook-and-ladder com- 
pany. 
One of an organized company, in a city or 
town, whose business it is to extinguish or pre- 
vent conflagrations ; a member of a fire-com- 
pany. 
Oh 1 it's only the firemen a-swearing 
At a man they've run over and kill'd ! 
Hood, Don't you Smell Fire? 
2. One of the crew of a gun in the United 
States navy whose duty it is to assist in extin- 
guishing fire, especially during a battle. 3. A 
man employed in tending fires, as of a steam- 
engine ; a stoker. 
The fireman can not cram too much pine into the fur- 
nace. W. X. Baker, New Timothy, p. 16. 
4. In coal-mining, a person charged with the 
special duty of examining every morning the 
working-places and roads of a pit to ascertain 
if fire-damp is present. 
n. Same &s lumachel. 
fireworks. 
\firehooke, such as they occupy to pull downe houses 
set on fire. Noiiwnclator. 
2. A heavy rake for stirring a furnace-fire. 
fire-house (fir'hous), n. A house containing a 
fire; a dwelling-house, as opposed to a barn, 
stable, or other outhouse. [Obsolete or pro- 
vincial.] 
Peter-pences to the Pope of Rome to be paid out of 
every fire-house in England. Fuller, Ch. Hist,, II. iii. 13. 
fire-hunt (fir'hunt), . A hunt in which a light 
is used to reveal or attract the game. 
fire-hunt (fir'hunt), . . To hunt at night, 
using a torch or other light to reveal or attract 
the game ; practise fire-hunting. 
fire-hunting (fir'hun"ting), . A method or 
practice of hunting at night with lights which 
reveal the game, usually by the reflection from fire-office (fir'of'is), n. 
its eyes, or attract it to the hunter. See/oo<- [Eng.] 
the composition of 
[Rare.] 
Fire-inaster, in our train of artillery, is an officer who 
gives directions, and the proportions of the ingredients, 
for all the compositions of Fire-works, whether for ser- 
vice in war, or for rejoicings and recreations. 
fire-room 
an insurance company engages, under certain 
specified conditions, to make good to the in- 
sured person such loss as may occur by tin- l<> 
his property, described in the policy, within 
the period therein specified, and usually not 
exceeding a specified sum. 
fire-pot (fir'pot), n. 1. A vessel used in an- 
cient warfare to contain combustible fluid, 
and dropped from the walls or thrown from a 
military engine. Compare fire-mace. 2. That 
part of a furnace in which the fire is made. 
3. A solderers' furnace. 4. A crucible. 
fire-proof (fir'prof), a. Proof against fire; so 
constructed orprotected as to be ineombust il >!<>. 
Buildings are rendered fire-proof by the exclusive use in 
their construction of non-combustible materials, as stone, 
brick, iron, cement, concrete, and asbestos. In the case 
of textile fabrics, as cotton and linen, the means adopted 
is saturation with various salts, as borax, which leave their 
crystals in the substance of the fabric. Wood is best 
protected by silicate of soda, which on the application of 
strong heat fuses into a glass, and, not only enveloping 
the outside, but also filling the internal pores of the wood, 
shields it from contact with the oxygen of the air. All 
that can be done to protect combustible materials by any 
process, however, is the prevention of conflagration ; no 
process yet known can prevent smoldering. 
fireproof (fir'prof), v. t. [< fire-proof, a.] To 
render proof against fire by some protecting 
cover, by chemical treatment, or by construc- 
tion with incombustible materials. 
Chambers's Cyc. (London, 1741), quoted in N. and Q., fireproofing (fir'prof'ing), . [Verbal n. of fire- 
proof, r.] 1. The act of rendering fire-proof : 
2. In Great Britain, the chief of a fire-brigade. as the fireproofing of cloth. 
fire-new (fir'nu), a. [< fire + new; = OD. 
viernieuw = G. fetierneu = ODan. fyrny. Cf. 
brand-new.] Fresh from the forge; bright; 
brand-new. 
Peace, master marquis, you are malapert : 
Your fire-new stamp of honour is scarce current. 
Shak., Rich. III., i. 3. 
With always some fire-new project in his brain, J. E. is 
the systematic opponent of innovation. 
Lamb, My Relations. 
Afire-insurance office, firer (fir'er), n. 
an incendiary. 
A porous tile for fireproofing has been introduced. 
Workshop Receipts, 2d ser., p. 293. 
2. Material for use in making anything fire- 
proof. 
fire-quarters (fir'kwar // terz), w. Naut., the sta- 
tions of a ship's company for extinguishing 
fires; also, the assembling of a ship's com- 
pany at their stations when an alarm of fire 
is given. 
One who sets fire to anything ; 
ing, jacking, shining, torching. fire-Opal (fir'6"pal), n. A variety of opal. See fire-raft (fir'raft), n. A raft loaded with com- 
Fire-huntiny is never tried in the cattle country ; . . . flirasol. bustibles, set on fire, and directed against an 
the streams are not suited to the floating or jacking witli fire-ordeal (fir'6r"de-al), n. [X fire + ordeal ; enemy's ship or fleet. 
a lantern in the bow of the canoe, as practised in the _ nn ,->iv./n.^/ t^A ..**..i*./w,^\ i A *m. n. * ** 
Adirondacks. T. Roosevelt, Hunting Trips p IBS =: ^ ' t roor e f ' ( mod - vuurproef).] An an- Then i the fire-raft was pushed alongside, and in a mo- 
cient mode of trying an accused person by 
means of fire. See ordeal 
fire-insurance (fir'in-shor"ans), n. Insurance 
against loss by fire. See insurance. 
fire-f 
ment the hip was one blaze. 
D - G - Farr <'!>" t , quoted in x. Y. Tribune, May 10, 1802. 
fire-pan (fir'pan), n. [< ME. fierpanne, < AS. fire-raising (fir'ra'zing), . 
.Now he getis hym flint, 
Hi&fyreirene he hent, 
And thenne withowttene any stynt 
He kyndilt a glede. 
Sir Perceval, 1. 753 (Thornton Rom., ed. Halliwell). 
2. pi. Utensils employed for managing a fire, 
consisting of poker, shovel, and tongs. 
fire-kiln (fir'kil), n. An oven or place for heat- 
ing anything. Simmonds. 
fire-ladder (fiT'lad'er), re. A fire-escape. 
fire-leaves (fir'levz), n. pi. A name given in 
holding fire or live coals, (a) A chaflng-dish or a 
brazier. 
A fire pan, such is used in barbers shops and others, in 
cold weather. A'omenclator. 
(b) A fire-pot; a grate. 
The place where fire is made, as a hearth moveable or a fire-red (fir'redl a 
firepanne, focus. Withals, Diet. (ed. 1608), p. 183. ^ G. feuerroth), 
(c) A pan or crate used to carry fire in fire-hunting. Id) In 'DC-A aa - 
the English version of the Bible, used to translate a He- 
brew word elsewhere rendered "censer " and "snuff -dish." 
barn-yard ae morning before day-dawning." 
" Hush 1 Meg, hush ! hush ! that's not safe talk." 
"What does she mean?" said Mannering to Sampson. 
in an undertone. 
"Fire-raising," answered the laconic Dominie. 
Scott, Guy Mannering, ill. 
[< ME. fyrreed (= OHG. 
, < fyr, fire, + reed, red.] 
Red as fire. 
And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and 
A sompnour was ther with us in that place, 
That hadde & fyrreed cherubynes face. 
some parts of England* to the leaves of the his shovels, and his basons7~andliis" fl"eshhooks, 'and Th'is Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to 0. T., 1. 624. 
plantain and devil's-bit, from the belief that -P!*"" 1 - Ex. xxvii. 3. fire-regulator (fir'reg"u-la-tor), n. An auto- 
they induce fermentation in newly stored hay. 2 - In a firelock, the receptacle for the priming- matiedeviee employed with low-pressure steam- 
fireless (fir'les), a. [< fire + -less.'} Destitute powder. heating fur- 
of fire. fire-pike (fir'pik), M. A poker; an instrument naees to main- 
The unsheltered, fireless soldiers. used in stirring a fire. [Prov. Eng.] tain a uniform 
The Century, xxix. 295. fireplace (fir'plas), n. The part of a chimney temperature, it 
firelight (fir'llt), n. 1. The light emitted by a whl , ch f eus i nt ? an a P artmen t. and in which f" s f i8 a ' '^dimi 
fire, especially an open fire of any kind. i uel ^ buruea ; m a restricted sense, a place 
for a fire in which the fuel is supported on and- 
irons or is placed upon the hearth. The bottom 
or floor of the fireplace is called the hearth, sometimes 
the inner hearth; a broad flat stone placed in front of the 
hearth is called the slab or outer hearth. The vertical 
sides of the fireplace-opening are termed the jambs, and 
the lintel which lies on them is called the mantel. The 
part of the wall immediately above the mantel is called the 
breast, and the wall behind the fireplace the back. The 
tube which conveys the smoke from the fireplace to the 
top of the chimney is called thefiut. The fireplace-cavity 
Shadows from the fitful fire-light 
Dance upon the parlor wall. 
Longfellow, Footsteps of Angels. 
2. Same as fire-lighter. 
fire-lighter (fir'U'ter), . A composition of 
inflammable materials, as pitch and sawdust, 
used for kindling fires. 
firelock (fir'lok), . A musket or other gun 
discharged by means of some mechanical de- 
cussion- snecificallv a flinrlnnk 
f, oaiiy, anil 
from and superseding the matchlock, which was 
tired with a match ; hence, one armed with such 
a gun. See cut under flintlock. 
The day following we were faine to hire a strong convoy 
of about 30 firelocks to guard us through the cord-woods. 
Evelyn, Diary, Jan. 25, 1845. 
fire-mace 
used 
when the steam 
reaches a certain 
pressure, lifting a 
lever which in turn 
controls a damper 
in the chimney. 
The closing of the 
damper checks the 
fire, when the pres- 
sure falls and the 
damperopengagain, 
vice wliich causes sparks by friction oVcon- beillg mllch wid r thnThe"fluerthey'are"";foTm7d~byl tne .process being 
eussion : soecifioallv a flintlock : rliati,,;^ fe ri a "5 P ortion ' at th ? m "^ *??& ^ hich there is c< !" t ""! a ?! y rep6 ? t - 
of ten a damper for regulating the draft. The fuel is burned 
on andirons or, if coal, in an iron receptacle or grate. 
The fireplaces were of a truly patriarchal magnitude, 
where the whole family, old and young, master and ser- 
vant, black and white, nay, even the very cat and dog en- 
joyed a community of privilege, and had each a right to a 
corner. Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 168. 
Covings of a fireplace. See coring. 
- - r j "~ Q-.I..WPJ ....... . . ui \J\TI.IA.U\*O\H*JIXJ L i u M i , Justin in c&86 of firp 
and usually thrown from a military engine. flre-noiTit (fir'noi'tit i A V 
The vessel broke when it struck, and distributed its burn- 2" ' vl ? !> n .\ A P * 
ing contents. Such vessels were often charged with Greek nr 6-p0llcy (tir pol"l-8l), n. J. 
ed, and thus main 
taining the temper- 
ature within cer- 
tain limits. 
fire-roll (fir'- 
rol), n. Naut., 
a peculiar beat 
of the drum to 
order men to 
a summons 
Fire-regulator. 
ass 
. 
fire (which see, under fire). The name probably had its 
origin in the bulbous or club-like shape of the vessel. 
A written instru- fire-room (fir rom), n. A room or space in front 
raent whereby, in consideration of a single pay- of the furnaces or steam-boilers on a ship, de- 
ment or of periodical payments of premiums, voted to the management of the boilers and the 
