dial. [Perh. in some way connected with FAIR sb., L. fēria.] A festival observed at Helston, Cornwall, on the eighth of May; also, a peculiar dance used on that occasion. (The W. Cornwall Gloss. gives Faddy and Flora as synonyms.) Also attrib.
1790. in Gentl. Mag., LX. I. 520. At Helstone … it is customary to dedicate the 8th of May to revelry…. It is called the Furry-day.
1848. C. A. Johns, Week at Lizard, 224–5. A large party of ladies and gentlemen, wearing summer attire, and profusely decorated with flowers, assemble opposite the Town-hall, and, preceded by a band of music, commence a peculiar kind of dance, called ‘the furry,’ first tripping on in a double row, and then, at a change in the tune, wheeling round in couples.
1872. Hardwick, Trad. Lanc., v. 87. A spring festival, said to be of very ancient origin, annually celebrated at Helston on the 8th of May, named the ‘Furry,’ or gathering.
