Where does “furze” come from?

Furze comes from Middle English furs, from Old English fyrs, from Old English fyres, a spiny shrub used for fuel and fodder.

furze (English): A thorny evergreen shrub, with yellow flowers,...

Definitions

  1. A thorny evergreen shrub, with yellow flowers,...

Ancestry of “furze”, step by step

furze traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English firse

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishfirseFurze or gorse; Clumps of furze for use in fires
2Old Englishfyrsfurze, gorse, bramble
3Old Englishfyresfurze

via English Furse

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishFurse—

Words derived from “furze”

Every word from Old English fyres →Every word from Old English fyrs →Every word from Middle English firse →