iron
Meanings
- 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.
- Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron.
- 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.
- Any of several other tools traditionally made of wrought iron, now usually of steel.
- Shackles.
- A firearm, either a long gun or a handgun.
- A dark shade of the color silver.
- A male homosexual.
- A golf club used for middle-distance shots.
- Used as a symbol of great strength or toughness, or to signify a very strong or tough material.
- Weight used as resistance for the purpose of strength training.
- A meteorite consisting primarily of metallic iron (mixed with a small amount of nickel), as opposed to one composed mainly of stony material.
- Made of the metal iron.
- Strong (as of will), inflexible.
- To pass an iron over (clothing or some other item made of cloth) in order to remove creases.
- To engage in such pressing of clothing.
- To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff.
- To furnish, clad, or arm with iron.
- The 57th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
- A group of Ossetians of the northern Caucasus who speak the Iron Ossetian dialect.
- Of or pertaining to the Iron people.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
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”), Alemannic German Ise (“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”).