firewire

F4I1R1E1W4I1R1E1

noun

A high-speed digital link standard covered by the IEEE 1394-1995 standard.

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Meanings

nounfirewire (plural firewires)

plural firewires

  1. A high-speed digital link standard covered by the IEEE 1394-1995 standard.
  2. A system of wires or tubes designed to detect fire and trigger automatic fire-extinguishers in an aircraft engine compartment for example.

Origin

From fire + wire. In the first sense ("high-speed digital link standard"), the term was originally a trade name—capitalized FireWire—used by Apple Inc. as it developed the standard in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic فَايْرْوَايْر
  • فَايْرْوَايْر (fayrwayr)a high speed digital link standard, IEEE 1394-1995
Chinese Mandarin 火線 /火线
  • 火線 /火线 (huǒxiàn)a high speed digital link standard, IEEE 1394-1995
French FireWire
  • FireWirea high speed digital link standard, IEEE 1394-1995
German FireWire
  • FireWirea high speed digital link standard, IEEE 1394-1995
Japanese ファイアワイア
  • ファイアワイア (faiawaia)a high speed digital link standard, IEEE 1394-1995
Russian фа́йрвайр, файрва́йр
  • фа́йрвайр (fájrvajr)a high speed digital link standard, IEEE 1394-1995
  • файрва́йр (fajrvájr)a high speed digital link standard, IEEE 1394-1995
Spanish FireWire
  • FireWirea high speed digital link standard, IEEE 1394-1995
Cite this entry
APA

firewire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firewire

MLA

“firewire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firewire. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “firewire,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firewire.

Source: firewire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.