furfur

F4U1R1F4U1R1
UK/ˈfɜːfə/US/ˈfɝfɚ/

noun

a particle of dandruff

OriginLatin furfur ← Proto-Indo-European *gʰur- →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounfurfur (usually uncountable, plural furfures)

plural furfures

  1. archaiccountableusuallya particle of dandruff
  2. archaicuncountableusuallydandruff

    ‘Aye,’ said WS, still in bed, scratching his baldness, examining the furfur in his fingernails.

    1964, Anthony Burgess, Nothing Like the Sun

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʰur-
  2. Latinfurfur“bran”
  3. Englishfurfur

From Latin furfur (“bran”), reduplication of *fur, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰur-, metathesis of *gʰrus- (compare Lithuanian grū́sti (“to grind (barley)”), Ancient Greek χρώς (khrṓs, “skin, husk”)).

More words from Latin, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

furrfu
Cite this entry
APA

furfur. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/furfur

MLA

“furfur.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/furfur. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “furfur,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/furfur.

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