iron
/ˈaɪ.ɚn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.74 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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
noun
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
noun
Any of several other tools traditionally made of wrought iron, now usually of steel.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Today we studied about metals — including iron — at school."
- "They gather one by one, trickling into the shady courtyard, the familiar hum of Mass. Ave. wafting in from behind brick buildings and iron gates."
- "It's many niggas now totin' iron."
- "Ah, throw that old iron over here! We'll pick it up and go on our way."
- "the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip"
- "The brassey much resembled the driver, but the iron opened out quite a new field of practice; […]"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ēsh₂r̥no-der.? Proto-Celtic *īsarnombor. Proto-Germanic *īsarną Proto-West Germanic *īsarn Old English īsern Old English īren Middle English iren English iron 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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: iren, īsern, *īsarn, *īsarną, *īsarnom, *h₁ésh₂r̥
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈaɪ.ɚn/
- British English: /ˈaɪ.ən/