firedrake

English

Etymology

From Middle English firdrake, from Old English fȳrdraca (“fire-spewing dragon”), equivalent to fire +‎ drake.

Noun

firedrake (plural firedrakes)

1. A fire-breathing dragon.
   • 1913, Helene A. Guerber, The Book of the Epic:

     […] the incensed firedrake, in revenge, flies all over the land, vomiting fire and smoke in every direction, […]

   • 1895, W Morris, AJ Wyatt (trans.), The Tale of Beowulf (2689):

     Then was the folk-scather for the third of times yet, The fierce fire-drake, all mindful of feud;

2. A fiery meteor, an ignis fatuus, a rocket
3. A kind of firework
4. (figurative, poetic) A worker at a furnace or fire (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Related terms

• earthdrake
• seadrake

References

• Century Dictionary and Cyclopdia

Further reading

• HMS Firedrake on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• USS Firedrake on Wikipedia.Wikipedia