Firn Definition
A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles and thus is made of numerous small icy grains, though it is not nearly as saturated with water as snow-cone slush is; can be hard or somewhat soft depending on recent and current weather conditions.
Other Word Forms of Firn
Noun
Origin of Firn
-
Borrowing from German Firn, from Alemannic German firn (“last year's”), from Old High German firni (“old”), from Proto-Germanic *firnijaz, *fernaz (“foregoing, previous”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forth, forward, across, through”); cognate with Old English fyrn (“former”), Old Norse forn (“old”), and Gothic (fairneis, “old”).
From Wiktionary
German from German dialectal of last year from Old High German firni old
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to firn using the buttons below.