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Iron

//æːn// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Made of the metal iron. not-comparable
2
Of or pertaining to the Iron people. not-comparable
3
Strong (as of will), inflexible. figuratively, not-comparable
"She had an iron will."

Adjective

1
extremely robust wordnet

Proper Noun

1
The 57th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
2
A group of Ossetians of the northern Caucasus who speak the Iron Ossetian dialect.

Noun

1
A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel: a chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe. uncountable
"Today we studied about metals — including iron — at school."
2
home appliance consisting of a flat metal base that is heated and used to smooth cloth wordnet
3
Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron. countable, uncountable
4
a golf club that has a relatively narrow metal head wordnet
5
A tool or appliance made of metal, which is heated and then used to transfer heat to something else; most often a thick piece of metal fitted with a handle and having a flat, roughly triangular bottom, which is heated and used to press wrinkles from clothing, and now usually containing an electrical heating apparatus. countable

Show 13 more definitions

6
implement used to brand live stock wordnet
7
Any of several other tools traditionally made of wrought iron, now usually of steel. countable, uncountable
8
a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood wordnet
9
Shackles. countable, plural-normally, uncountable
10
A firearm, either a long gun or a handgun. countable, slang, uncountable
"Ah, throw that old iron over here! We'll pick it up and go on our way."
11
A dark shade of the color silver. uncountable
12
A male homosexual. Cockney, countable, offensive, slang
13
A golf club used for middle-distance shots. countable, uncountable
"The brassey much resembled the driver, but the iron opened out quite a new field of practice; […]"
14
Used as a symbol of great strength or toughness, or to signify a very strong or tough material. figuratively, uncountable
"ironman; a will of iron"
15
Weight used as resistance for the purpose of strength training. countable, uncountable
"He lifts iron on the weekends."
16
A meteorite consisting primarily of metallic iron (mixed with a small amount of nickel), as opposed to one composed mainly of stony material. countable
"Irons and stony irons can be much larger than stony meteorites and are much more visually striking, but make up only a few percent of all meteorites."
17
A safety curtain in a theatre. countable, uncountable
18
A dumb bomb, one without guidance systems. countable, slang, uncountable

Verb

1
To pass an iron over (clothing or some other item made of cloth) in order to remove creases. transitive
"You'd be wise to iron that shirt before you wear it."
2
press and smooth with a heated iron wordnet
3
To engage in such pressing of clothing. intransitive
"They were washing and ironing all morning."
4
To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff. archaic, transitive
"[...] is it he who is ironed like a malefactor—who is to be dragged on a hurdle to the common gallows—to die a lingering and cruel death, and to be mangled by the hand of the most outcast of wretches?"
5
To furnish, clad, or arm with iron. transitive
"to iron a wagon"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English iren, from Old English īsern, īsærn, īren, īsen, from Proto-West Germanic *īsarn, from Proto-Germanic *īsarną (“iron”), from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom (“iron”), possibly a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”). Cognates Cognate with Scots airn, ern (“iron”), Yola eeren (“iron”), Saterland Frisian Iersen (“iron”), West Frisian izer (“iron”), Bavarian Eisn (“iron”), Cimbrian aizarn (“iron”), Dutch ijzer (“iron”), German, Luxembourgish Eisen (“iron”), German Low German Isen (“iron”), Limburgish iezer (“iron”), Mòcheno aisn (“iron”), Vilamovian ȧjza (“iron”), West Flemish yzer (“iron”), Yiddish אײַזן (ayzn, “iron”), Danish jern, jærn (“iron”), Faroese jarn (“iron”), Icelandic járn (“iron”), Jamtish járn, jáðn (“iron”), Norwegian Bokmål jern (“iron”), Norwegian Nynorsk jarn, jern, jønn (“iron”), Swedish jern, jaͤrn, järn (“iron”), Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃𐌰𐍂𐌽 (eisarn, “iron”).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

Translation of the Arabic حديد (ḥadīd, “iron”).

Etymology 5

From Ossetian Ирон (Iron), a derivation (with the adjective suffix Ossetian -он (-on) from the historical genitive plural Proto-Indo-Iranian *-ānaHam) of Ossetian Ир (Ir). Ossetian Ир (Ir) probably reflexes Proto-Indo-Iranian *wiHrás. Because the Digoron ethnonym for the Ir is Ossetian Ирӕ (Iræ), Cheung (2002) has suggested a derivation from the plural Proto-Indo-Iranian *wiHrā́s. Ossetian Ирон (Iron) is unrelated to Iran despite the superficial similarity in form. Borrowed into the Vainakh languages (and some Dagestani languages) as their exonym for the Ossetes, cf. Chechen Хӏири (Hiri), Ingush Хӏире (Hire).

Etymology 6

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