The Collaborative International Dictionary
Fir \Fir\ (f[~e]r), n. [Dan. fyr, fyrr; akin to Sw. furu, Icel. fura, AS. furh in furhwudu fir wood, G. f["o]hre, OHG. forha pine, vereheih a sort of oak, L. quercus oak.] (Bot.) A genus ( Abies) of coniferous trees, often of large size and elegant shape, some of them valued for their timber and others for their resin. The species are distinguished as the balsam fir, the silver fir, the red fir, etc. The Scotch fir is a Pinus.
Note: Fir in the Bible means any one of several coniferous
trees, including, cedar, cypress, and probably three
species of pine.
--J. D. Hooker.
Wiktionary
n. A North American species of fir tree (''Abies balsamea'').
WordNet
n. medium-sized fir of northeastern North America; leaves smell of balsam when crushed; much used for pulpwood and Christmas trees [syn: balm of Gilead, Canada balsam, Abies balsamea]
Usage examples of "balsam fir".
Jamie had moved a little, finding a sheltered spot among rocks at the t of a big, balsam fir.
But it was only recently that the gene was successfully spliced into the balsam fir's DNA sequence.
Trees grown large and close held back the breeze and its chill, making the trail a quiet sanctuary filled with the aromatic fragrance of balsam fir: a refuge from winter's breath above.
Dusky variegated leaves hunkered against a stem that wound in a stranglehold around the smooth trunk of a balsam fir.
On a low, dead branch of a balsam fir not ten feet away, a small red squirrel, with his winter ear tufts already grown in, plucked a leathery brown rosette of lichen growing on the bark.
But this was one of the most uncanny beasts he had ever seen, an enormous male standing half concealed among the dense second growth of balsam fir.
In the evening, when Malachi and John were, as usual, employed in cutting small trays out of the soft wood of the balsam fir, and of which they had already prepared a large quantity, Mrs.
The beech and maple of the eastern edges gave way to spruce and tamarack, balsam fir, and their route lay often over open ground, across high shoulders of rock and slopes of littered scree.
At last, she settled on a balsam fir with a perfect silhouette, like a plump lady holding out her skirts.