firework
/ˈfaɪɚˌwɚk/ noun
Forms fireworks
- noun (usually plural) A device using gunpowder and other chemicals which, when lit, emits a combination of coloured flames, sparks, whistles or bangs, and sometimes made to rocket high into the sky before exploding, used for entertainment or celebration. “Commercial firework displays are commonly launched from boats or other vessels”
Synonyms
Etymology
From fire + work. Compare Saterland Frisian Fjuurwierk (“firework”), West Frisian fjoerwurk (“firework”), Dutch vuurwerk (“firework”), Low German Füürwark, Füerwark (“firework”), German Feuerwerk (“firework”), Danish fyrværkeri (“firework”), Swedish fyrverkeri (“firework”), Faroese fýrverk (“firework”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A device for producing a striking display of light, or a figure or figures in plain or colored fire, by the combustion of materials that burn in some peculiar manner, as gunpowder, sulphur, metallic filings, and various salts. The most common feature of fireworks is a paper or pasteboard tube filled with the combustible material. A number of these tubes or cases are often combined so as to make, when kindled, a great variety of figures in fire, often variously colored.
- noun pl.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “firework”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details