[a. OF. forre-r (mod.F. fourrer) to line, envelop, encase, sheathe, = Sp., Pg. forrar, It. foderare, a Com. Rom. vb. f. *fod(e)ro case, sheath (OF. fuerre, forre, Sp., Pg. forro, It. fodero), a. Teut. *fôðro- (Goth. fôdr, OE. fóddor, OHG. fuotar, mod.Ger. futter). In all senses exc. 6 and 7 the Eng. vb. is closely connected with FUR sb.1, of which it is commonly apprehended as a derivative. Cf. FOTHER v.]
1. trans. To line, trim, or cover (a garment) with fur.
c. 1300. K. Alis., 5474. The kyng dude of his robe, furred with meneuere.
a. 1366[?]. [see FUR sb.1 1].
a. 1450. Knt. de la Tour (1868), 30. Y wolle furre her gowne, coleres, sleues, and cotes, the here outwarde.
a. 1533. Ld. Berners, Huon, xlviii. 160. They gaue her … a mantell furryd with ermyns.
1599. Hakluyt, Voy., I. 98. The rich Tartars sometimes fur their gowns with pelluce or silke shag.
1696. trans. Du Mont’s Voy. Levant, 266. In Winter ’tis furr’d with a Skin, call’d Samour, which is so costly that Great Persons have some that are worth 1000 Crowns apiece.
1840. H. Ainsworth, Tower of London, II. i. She was habited in a robe of violet-coloured velvet, furred with powdered ermine.
1841. Motley, Corr. (1889), I. iv. 73. I was immersed to the hips in a pair of fur boots (furred on both sides), without which an attempt to make such a journey would have been a bootless undertaking.
fig. 1648. Gage, West Ind., xiv. 96. A Supper, that should strongly support our empty stomacks, and furre and line them well for the next foure and twenty houres.
b. To serve as a lining or trimming for.
1576. Turberv., Venerie, 198.
| But Raynard doth such deeds, and therfore strike him down, | |
| His case will serue to fur the Cape of Master huntsmans gowne. |
1631. T. Powell, Tom of All Trades, 36. As many Fox-skins, as will furre his Long-lane gowne, when he is called to the Livorie.
2. To clothe or adorn (a person) with fur.
1370[?]. Robt. Cicyle, 56. The aungelle … clad them alle in clothys of pryse, And furryd them with armyne.
a. 1450. Knt. de la Tour (1868), 30. She shalle be beter purfiled and furred thanne other ladies and gentille women.
a. 1533. Ld. Berners, Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546), I j. I am furred with the furres that thou hast sent me.
1812. Examiner, 12 Oct., 652/2. So to ribband, to fur, to tassel, and to fringe … men is … degrading their humanity.
1815. Scott, Guy M., xx. Miss Mannering was furred and mantled up to the throat.
1886. Tinsley’s Mag., July, 49. It was the 29th May … and still the fair were furred.
b. pass. Of an animal or his skin: To be covered with fur. Also fig.
1651. Fuller’s Abel Rediv., J. Fox, 383. Rare Fox (well furr’d with patience).
1823. Scoresby, Jrnl. Whale Fishery, 109. It [a polar bear] was a fine large specimen, the skin which was very white, and well furred, measuring about eight feet in length.
3. To coat or cover with fur or morbid matter. To fur up: to stop up or ‘clog’ with this.
1593. Nashe, Christ’s T., 31 a. Her Alablaster walls were all furred and fome-painted, with the bespraying of mens braines.
1601. ? Marston, Pasquil & Katherine, I. 34.
| Yee shall haue me an emptie caske that’s furd | |
| With nought but barmie froth. |
1669. W. Simpson, Hydrol. Chym., 354. A rejected Sordes of the blood, which furs up the Orifices.
1700. Addison, Eneid, III. Misc. Wks. 1726, I. 60. The walls On all sides furr’d with mouldy damps.
1792. S. Ireland, Views Thames, II. 89. This water has the property of not furring any vessel it is boiled in.
1839. Stonehouse, Axholme, 25. It [the water] is very hard, contains a large portion of earthy salts, and furs every thing in which it is kept.
1863. Tyndall, Heat, xi. 375. The surface of the vessel … is now white-furred all over with hoar-frost.
fig. 1641. Milton, Animadv. (1851), 220. We … after all these spirituall preparatives, and purgations have our earthly apprehensions so clamm’d and furr’d with the old levin.
1684. J. Lacy, Sir H. Buffoon, IV. iii. Thy love to her is furr’d all over like a sick man’s tongue, so that love in thee is a perfect Fever.
1863. Hants. (Otterbourn) Dial., One can’t do nothing, one’s so furred up with things.
4. intr. To become furred or coated with morbid matter. Also, to collect as fur. To fur up: to become ‘clogged’ with fur.
1550. Becon, Fortr. Faithf., Prol. A vij b. Nowadayes ye archedecons aske not for ye pore … but whether ye hosts be wel kept in ye pyxe from moulding & furring.
1601. Holland, Pliny, II. 520. Take it forth, and scrape from it the mouldinesse or vinewing that doth furre or gather about it.
1615. Crooke, Body of Man, 401. A little skill to cleere and dresse the wheeles may keepe this watch of his life [the heart] in motion, which otherwise will furre vp and stand in his dissolution.
1648. Herrick, Hesper., Upon Glasco (1869), 46. Teeth … Which though they furre, will neither ake or rot.
1649. Blithe, Eng. Improv. Impr. (1652), 71. The better will they [Spades] rid off worke by far, and the most easie, and delightfull to the Workman, and not fur and clog with Earth, which makes the worke go off very heavily.
a. 1706. E. Baynard, Health (1740), 6. For too much Meat the Bowels fur.
1743. Lond. & Country Brew., III. (ed. 2), 245. Their rough Inside, that is sooner apt to furr, taint and leak.
Mod. This kettle soon furs.
† b. To fur up: to become fluffy. Obs.
1825. J. Nicholson, Operat. Mechanic, 394–5. In preparing the raw silk for dying the thread is slightly twisted, in order to enable it to bear the action of the hot liquor without the fibres separating or furring up.
5. trans. To clean off the fur of (a boiler).
1867. Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., Furring the boilers, in a steamer, cleaning off the incrustation or sediment which forms on their inner surfaces.
6. Carpentry. To fix strips of wood to (floor-timbers, rafters, etc.) in order to bring them to a level, or to the required surface. Also with off. (Cf. FUR sb.1 7.)
1678, 1703, 1823. [Implied in FURRING vbl. sb. 3 b].
1842. Gwilt, Archit., 977. The timbers of a floor, though level at first, oftentimes require to be furred.
1852. P. Nicholson’s Encycl. Archit., I. 436.
1891. John R. Spears, Odd American Homes, in Scribner’s Mag., X. Sept., 312/1. Some sod walls are furred off, lathed, and plastered.
¶ 7. (? nonce-use after F. fourrer). To foist or thrust in.
1592. Bacon, Disc. in Praise of Sovereign, in Spedding, Life, I. 134. But only by furring in audacious persons into sundry governments.
