firewheel en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ Proto-Germanic *fōr Proto-West Germanic *fuir Old English fȳr Middle English fyr English fire Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂ Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Middle English whel English wheel English firewheel From fire + wheel.
Meanings
- Gaillardia pulchella, a flowering plant of southern US, from Arizona to Florida, and northern Mexico.
-
A wheel of or on fire.
Ashes from the firewheels, spread through the fields, guarantee bumper crops for the coming seasons.
1974, Rundschau, volume 4:Weather conditions worsened and the bombers flew into a huge electrical storm that turned their propellers into giant firewheels, as one pilot reported, and blew them all over the sky.
2009, Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich at War: 1939-1945:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| firewheels | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
Indian blanket · sundance · Indian paintbrush · Indian blanketflower