Firn

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /fɪən/
• US IPA: /fɪɹn/

Origin

Borrowing from de 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 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 (fairneis, "old").

Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1993

Noun

1. 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.

Derived terms

• firnification

Synonyms

• névé

Anagrams

• NIRF