fireworks

/ˈfaɪ̯.ɚ.wɝks/

UK: /ˈfaɪ̯.ə.wɜːks/

FAꞮ̯ · ɚ · wɝks (3 syllables)

English Noun Top 5,789

American (Lessac) (medium)

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Definition

plural of firework.

Etymology

From fire + work(s). The similarity with Dutch vuurwerk and German Feuerwerk, both “fireworks”, is hardly coincidental. Since the word was apparently first attested in English circa 1575, probably from the Dutch (1540), from the German (sense early 16th c.), from Middle High German viurwerc (14th c. as “fuel, firewood”). A spread from the south northwards is also in line with the fact that the first European fireworks were produced in Italy in the late 14th century.