firn

F4I1R1N1
UK/fɪə(ɹ)n/US/fɪɹn/US/fɪəɹn/

noun

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 snowcone slush is; can be hard or somewhat soft depending on recent and current weather conditions.

Similar
névé
OriginGerman Firn ← Alemannic German firn ← Old High German firni →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

nounfirn (countable and uncountable, plural firns)

plural firns

  1. countableuncountableA 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 snowcone slush is; can be hard or somewhat soft depending on recent and current weather conditions.

    Synonyms: névé

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA 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 snowcone slush is; can be hard or somewhat soft depending on recent and current weather conditions.

Similar
névé

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-“forth, forward, across, through”
  2. Proto-Germanic*firnijaz
  3. Proto-West Germanic[Term?]
  4. Old High Germanfirni“old”
  5. Alemannic Germanfirn“last year's”
  6. GermanFirn
  7. Englishfirn

Borrowed from German Firn, from Alemannic German firn (“last year's”), from Old High German firni (“old”), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?], 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 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 (fairneis, “old”).

More words from German, Alemannic German, Old High German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic ثَلْج حُبَيْبَي
  • ثَلْج حُبَيْبَي (ṯalj ḥubaybay)A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Bulgarian фирн
  • фирн (firn)A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Czech firn
  • firnA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Finnish firn, firn-lumi
  • firnA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
  • firn-lumiA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
French névé
  • névéA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
German Firn
  • FirnA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Italian nevato
  • nevatoA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Polish firn
  • firnA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Russian фирн, серён
  • фирн (firn)A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
  • серён (serjón)A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
  • се́рен (séren)A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
  • серена́ (serená)A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
  • се́рень (sérenʹ)A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Slovak firn
  • firnA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Swedish firn, firnsnö
  • firnA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
  • firnsnöA type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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