Where does “firefan” come from?

firefan (English) comes from English fire, from Middle English fier, from Old English fȳr, from Old English feor, from Proto-Germanic ferrai, from Proto-Indo-European per-nóy, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

firefan (English): handheld fan used for fanning a fire

Definitions

  1. handheld fan used for fanning a fire

Ancestry of “firefan”, step by step

firefan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English fire

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfireA chemical reaction involving the bonding of...
2Middle EnglishfierAlternative form of figer
3Old Englishfȳrfire
4Old EnglishfeorAlternative form of feorr; far
5Proto-Germanicferraifar, distant
6Proto-Indo-Europeanper-nóy
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via English Fan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishFanA diminutive of Frances
2EnglishfanaticFanatical; Showing evidence of possession by a...
3Frenchfanatiquefanatic, fanatical; fanatic
4Latinfānāticustemple
5Latin-aticusUsed to form adjectives indicating a relation to...
6Latin-ātused
7Proto-Italic-ātos
8Proto-Indo-European-éh₂tosForms adjectives from nouns, indicating the possession of a thing or a quality
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós