fireworkn.
/ˈfʌɪəwəːk/, U.S. /ˈfaɪ(ə)rˌwərk/ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > [noun] > incendiary missile
fireballc1485
stopsel1489
firework1528
ball?a1549
firepot?a1549
bomb1588
powder pot1611
fire-trunk1639
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > fire, radiation, or chemical weapons > [noun] > fire as weapon
fire?c1225
Greek fire?c1225
Greekish fire?c1225
wildfire1297
firework1528
liquid firea1616
dragoon1626
fire chemise1728
Grecian fire1774
chemise-
1528 in J. S. Brewer Lett. & Papers Reign Henry VIII (1872) (modernized text) IV. ii. 2227 Peter oile and lyne oile for fyre worke.
c1550 Inventory in Archaeologia (1982) 107 178/1 Certeyn stuf for fireworke and plates of ladells.
1562 P. Whitehorne Certain Waies Orderyng Souldiers f. 1, in tr. N. Machiavelli Arte of Warre Howe to make Saltpeter, Gunpoulder, and diuers sortes of Fireworkes or wilde Fyre.
1633 G. Herbert Starre in Temple iii First with thy fire-work burn to dust Folly.
1636 D. Featley Clavis Mystica xiv. 189 Granadoes and other fire-works..do more harm to them that cast them than to the enemie.
1676 London Gaz. No. 1119/3 The Enemy set fire to a Firework they had prepared in the Court of Guard of the said Bastion.
c1710 in J. K. Laughton Mem. Relating to Ld. Torrington (1889) 140 Some boats mann'd, arm'd, and with fireworks..to burn a French privateer.
1777 E. Burke Corr. (1844) II. 142 The construction of all fireworks is understood at the ordnance-office.
1834 J. S. Macaulay Treat. Field Fortification 171 In the attack of fortified houses, the fire of the loop-holes may be stopped by the introduction of small rockets, or any other artificial fire-work, that will create..smoke.
1919 H. B. Faber Mil. Pyrotechnics I. vii. 186 Four general designs in firework devices were in constant use by both the French and the British armies.
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society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > [noun] > processing > types of heating process
burning1559
firework1560
roast1582
coction1684
kelp-burning1845
hot drawing1897
process heating1926
1560 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1875) III. 87 Irne and fyre werk furnesit and maid to his hous.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 467 But for that the..smoke..may stifle and choke them..they are forced to giue ouer such fire-work.
1607 N. Breton Murmurer sig. Diiij His heart the Anuile wheron the deuill frames his fireworke.
1609 S. Rowlands Whole Crew Kind Gossips 15 Ile vndertake, The credit of this fire-worke [sc. tobacco-smoking] quite to shake.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. ix. 336 To the fire-works succeed the Arts relating to waters.
3. † a. A pictorial or ornamental design formed by igniting devices filled with gunpowder and other combustible chemicals. Also as a mass noun, esp. in piece of firework. Obsolete.
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the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > design created by
fireworka1577
set piece1874
a1577 G. Gascoigne Princelie Pleasures Kenelworth sig. A.iijv, in Whole Wks. (1587) At which time there wer fire-works shewed vpon the water, the which were both strange and wel executed.
1590 E. Webbe Rare & Wonderfull Things (new ed.) sig. C3 I my selfe was then constrayned to make a cunning peece of fire woorke framed in forme like to the Arke of Noye.
1599 R. Hakluyt Voyages II. i. 204 They make great feasting and triumph within the Carouan, with castles and other infinite deuises of fireworke.
1644 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 137 The night ended with fire-works..The first appeared to be a mighty rock.
1675 London Gaz. No. 1027/4 A rare Fire-work was erected on the little Isle..representing the Alliance of the Confederates.
1750 H. Brooke New Coll. Fairy Tales II. xii. 204 Commode drew from under the Seat of the Chariot a great Quantity of Squibs and Crackers which she had brought, perhaps with Design to make a little Piece of Firework.
1850 Water-cure Jrnl. Mar. 65/2 Some years since I saw at a pyrotechnic exhibition a complicated piece of firework.
b. A device containing gunpowder and other combustible chemicals which is ignited to produce spectacular sparkling effects and explosions; (now) esp. one propelled into the night sky as part of a display. Also in extended use.
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the world > matter > light > firework > [noun]
fireworkc1580
fire1628
pyrotechnic1838
c1580 tr. Bugbears iv. i, in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1897) 98 34 O how horrible thie are clad with visards like develes, what a sort of lightes they had what store of squibbes & firworkes, and of rosen punned fine.
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. N3 To his priuie members they tied streaming fier-workes.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. K2 A Iustice..vsed that rogue like a fire-worke to run vpon a line betwixt him and me.
a1677 J. Taylor Contempl. State Man (1684) ii. ix. 286 A Wheel of Squibs and Fire-Works.
1784 London Mag. May 375/2 The manner of its bursting greatly resembled that of a fire-work, known by the name of a Roman candle abroad.
1849 F. B. Head Stokers & Pokers (1851) x. 93 Sparks created by the sudden ignition of a sackful of fire-works.
1872 T. H. Huxley Lessons Elem. Physiol. (ed. 6) ix. 222 The remarkable display of subjective fireworks which follows a heavy blow upon the eyes.
1884 St. James's Gaz. 25 July 4/2 Letting off a quantity of the noisiest and smokiest fireworks procurable.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxii. 592 Potassium chlorate is used in the manufacture of fireworks.
1952 T. Armstrong Adam Brunskill xiv. 454 When..the last firework had fizzed into the air or thundered among the unwary on the ground, young and old trooped indoors.
1979 Economist 28 Apr. 28/2 A firework lobbed by a demonstrator caused the police to react.
2003 Daily Tel. 5 Nov. i. 13/2 The legal age for buying fireworks was increased from 16 to 18.
c. In plural and (formerly also) singular. A pyrotechnic display staged for the purpose of entertainment, celebration, etc.; a firework display.
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the mind > emotion > excitement > [noun] > a state of intense excitement
fireworks1598
transport1658
adrenaline rush1969
the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > firework display
fireworks1598
pyrotechnics1778
firework display1837
fireworks display1853
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > a public show or spectacle > type of show or spectacle > [noun] > firework display
fireworks1598
pyrotechnics1861
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > optical illusion > [noun] > an optical illusion > illusion of light > flashes of light after blow to head
fireworks1598
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. i. 107 The King would haue me present the Princesse..with some delightfull ostentation..or fierworke . View more context for this quotation
1625 K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis iii. xxiv. 228 In expectation of fire-workes, which hee had promised not far from the shore.
1682 London Mercury 10 Apr. 2/2 Other like manifestations of their satisfaction, as Bonefires and Fire-works in the Evenings.
1748 H. Walpole Let. 6 Oct. in Corr. (1974) XXXVII. 297 The superiority that his firework will have over the Roman naumachia.
1764 S. Foote Lyar i. ii. 15 After supper a ball; and to conclude the night, a firework.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 476 The banquet [was followed] by brilliant fireworks, and the fireworks by much bad poetry.
1859 W. M. Thackeray Virginians III. vi. 65 He remembered a firework at home, at Williamsburg, on the King's birthday.
1933 B. Johnston Let. 5 Nov. in Lett. Home 1926–45 (1998) 125 We had a goodish evening with fireworks etc last night.
1954 Billboard 19 June 58/1 Rockaways' Playland will again take part in a program of free weekly fireworks this year, on Wednesday nights offshore over the Atlantic.
2010 South Afr. 2 Feb. 19/2 It was good but the fireworks only lasted about 10 minutes.
d. figurative. In plural. A display of wit, passion, anger, etc.; a performance of great skill or energy; excitement, disturbance. Cf. pyrotechnics n. 3.
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the mind > emotion > passion > [noun] > sudden outburst or access of passion
heatc1200
gerec1369
accessc1384
braida1450
guerie1542
bursting1552
ruff1567
riot1575
suddentyc1575
pathaire1592
flaw1596
blaze1597
start1598
passion1599
firework1601
storm1602
estuation1605
gare1606
accession?1608
vehemency1612
boutade1614
flush1614
escapea1616
egression1651
ebullition1655
ebulliency1667
flushinga1680
ecstasy1695
gusta1704
gush1720
vehemence1741
burst1751
overboiling1767
explosion1769
outflaming1836
passion fit1842
outfly1877
Vesuvius1886
outflame1889
1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love iv. iii. sig. H4v Anai. Sir, I will garter my hose with your guttes; and that shall be all. Mercur. 'Slid what rare fire workes bee heere? flash, flash. View more context for this quotation
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 31 He has neither Squibs nor Fireworks..the curs'd Carrier lost his best Book of Phrases.
1682 N. Tate & J. Dryden 2nd Pt. Absalom & Achitophel 14 In Fire-works give him leave to vent his spight; Those are the only Serpents he can write.
1751 Earl of Orrery Remarks Swift (1752) 53 His friend Dr. Sheridan, who..was continually letting off squibs, rockets, and all sorts of little fireworks from the press.
1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius ix. 159 Barker turned on the fireworks of his conversation for the amusement of Claudius.
1889 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang Fireworks (tailors), a great disturbance, a state of intense excitement.
1935 Swing Music Mar. 8/1 He never indulged in exotic fireworks merely to demonstrate his superior skill and exceptionally agile fingers.
1979 E. H. Gombrich Sense of Order i. 19 An aesthetic prejudice on the part of purists against all forms of verbal fireworks.
2007 M. Richards Growing Wild on Exmoor 15 There was no malice in him at all. Neither was there anything uncontrolled, nothing wildly exciting, no fireworks.
e. Services' slang. In plural. During the First World War (1914–18) and Second World War (1939–45): the lights and sounds of shells, flares, anti-aircraft fire, etc., esp. when occurring at night. Cf. Brock's benefit n. (b). Now historical.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > use of lights and flares > [noun]
firework1916
1916 Times 3 July 9/5 To north and south as far as the eye could see it was one display of fireworks.
1917 Harper's Mag. Feb. 316/1 The fireworks apparently were over.
1918 H. D. Trounce Fighting Boche Underground ix. 137 At five forty-five exactly, the artillery around us all burst loose, and the fireworks started.
?1928 L. F. Penstone Hist. 76 Siege Battery R.G.A. v. 76 Ypres, where the ‘fireworks’ were so plentiful and cheap.
1940 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 5 Feb. 3/5 Ice is the worst enemy—worse even than the German ‘fireworks’ of anti-aircraft shells and ‘flaming onions’.
1943 Life 15 Mar. 33 The German planes had to duck down through it to look for targets. Whenever they did so, they ran into the fireworks shown in the time exposure above.
2011 N. Rankin Ian Fleming's Commandos xi. 231 The night-time fireworks along the coast were spectacular: ack-ack bursts, caterpillars of orange-red tracer, star shells falling bright.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > [noun]
oveneOE
furnacea1225
chimney1340
fire-stock1440
firework1606
fire room1657
firehole1682
poil1756
smut1819
blast-pot1887
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > other places in mine
work1474
firework1606
stemple1653
stool1653
bink1675
engine pit1687
swamp1691
feeder1702
wall1728
bag1742
sill1747
stope1747
rose cistern1778
striking-house1824
plat1828
stemplar1828
screen chamber1829
offtake1835
footwall1837
triple pit1839
stamp1849
paddock1852
working floor1858
pit house1866
ground-sluice1869
screen tower1871
planilla1877
undercurrent1877
mill1878
blanket-sluice1881
stringing-deal1881
wagon-breast1881
brushing-bed1883
poppet-leg1890
slippet1898
stable1906
overcut1940
1606 T. Dekker Newes from Hell sig. B3v The Map of a country, that lyes lower..then the Cole-pits of Newcastle, is farre more darke, then the Colliers of those fire-workes are.
1613 J. Rovenzon Treat. Metallica sig. C4 The furnaces or fire-workes may be made rounde.
1674 W. Petty Disc. before Royal Soc. 36 In Fire-works great Fires are more profitable than small; as in Brewers Coppers.
1780 J. Woodforde Diary 9 May (1924) I. 282 Pedralio..is the Manager of the Fire Works at Bunns Garden at Norwich.
1824 New Eng. Farmer 5 June 354/2 It is a great want of economy to employ inferior workmen to erect any kind of fire-works.
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society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > material for igniting > [noun] > other means of ignition
burning-glass1570
sunglass1591
salamander1698
fire bottle1708
fireworks1743
sunglass1801
eupyrion1827
burning-lens1831
1743 J. Isham Observ. Hudsons Bay (1949) 19/1 A bag to put fire works in.
1798 E. Fitzgerald Let. 14 Mar. in T. Moore Life & Death Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1831) I. 130 We..took three days' bread, two days' pork, our axe and fireworks.
1849 J. McLean Notes 25 Years' Service Hudson's Bay Territory I. v. 58 The night was dark, and to make our situation as cheerless as possible, it was discovered that my companion had left his ‘fire-works’ behind.
1874 Ladies' Repository Dec. 435/1 They had no fire-works—flint, steel, and tinder—and we gave them ours, and sent them forward with directions to hurry and kindle fire at once.
Compounds
C1. Compounds with singular form firework (chiefly in sense 3).
a. General attributive and objective.
firework factory n.
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1842 St. James's Chron. 1 Mar. (heading) Explosion of a firework factory.—Loss of four lives.
1963 Brit. Jrnl. Industr. Med. 20 264/2 Jordan's patient handled this powder in a firework factory.
1992 Independent 4 Nov. 7/5 There were two firework factories, Standard and Lion, at opposite ends of the town.
firework goods n. now rare
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1884 Boston Daily Globe 22 June 8/7 (advt.) The most desirable, varied and economical selection of Firework Goods that the purchaser can obtain.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 1 Nov. 5/2 We are busy manufacturing the smaller firework goods all the year round.
2012 Frontier Star (Pakistan) (Nexis) 21 Jan. The secret godowns at Narankar Bazaar and other areas are stuffed with the firework goods which are being sold out with impunity.
firework maker n.
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1682 A. Oldys Fair Extravagant 9 I mean, to be Cheif-Firework-Maker to the forementioned Honourable City, upon their usual Solemnities on the 5th. and 18th. of November.
1785 T. Holcroft tr. P. A. C. de Beaumarchais Follies of Day ii. 51 Pedro Bounce, my Lord, Fire-work maker to your Lordship.
1803 tr. G. C. A. Pigault-Lebrun Monsieur Botte II. 230 The fire-work maker loaded ten porters with grenades.
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Nov. 4/1 None more healthy than the firework maker.
1925 Safety Jan. 25 In a country like India, they are still made by village firework makers, and lead to many fatal accidents.
2013 Sun (Nexis) 25 Oct. 7 He had experimented with explosive chemicals for his hobbies as a magician and firework maker.
b.
firework display n. a pyrotechnic display staged for the purpose of entertainment, celebration, etc.; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > firework display
fireworks1598
pyrotechnics1778
firework display1837
fireworks display1853
1837 Bell's New Weekly Messenger 2 July 429/4 Shortly after the conclusion of the firework display..the scene of hilarity was suddenly changed into one of indescribable confusion.
1939 Musical Times 80 702/2 Talking of cadences..Stanford's final one is a very fair rocket to close the firework display.
2011 R. Fortey Survivors vi. 175 The Moreton Bay pine..reminds me..of a firework display, with little bursts of branchlets..swishing up into the sky.
C2. Compounds with plural form fireworks (in sense 3).
fireworks display n. = firework display n. at Compounds 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > firework display
fireworks1598
pyrotechnics1778
firework display1837
fireworks display1853
1853 Bell's New Weekly Messenger 5 June 5/6 The brilliant fireworks display..even superior to the effects of previous years.
1931 E. Ferber Amer. Beauty vii. 140 He turned to Polcia with a fireworks display of Polish.
2002 Wall St. Jrnl. 6 June d7/6 The alarmingly noisy songfest ended in an even noisier, though breathtaking, fireworks display.
Fireworks Night n. (also with lower-case initials) a night on which fireworks are displayed for the purpose of entertainment, celebration, etc.; esp. (chiefly British) = Guy Fawkes night, variant of Guy Fawkes day n. at guy n.2 1b.
ΚΠ
1944 Daily Mail Weekly Digest (Transatlantic ed.) 1 Nov. 2 (heading) Those lost six years of ‘Fireworks Night’.
1960 Times of India 20 Nov. 5/4 Fireworks Night was, of course, Guy Fawkes Night, but we in Wales were more concerned with the fireworks than the guy.
1999 Indianapolis Monthly June 241/2 Get the same great seat to five or ten of the hottest Indians' [i.e. the baseball team the Indianapolis Indians] promotions at Victory Field. Each package includes a fireworks night.
2001 F. Hebbard Memories Kalgoorlie 205 Then came November 5th. Cracker night, Fireworks night..the evening when fireworks exploded everywhere to the joy of children.
Derivatives
ˈfireˌworkless adj. not having or featuring fireworks (sense 3b).
ΚΠ
1856 C. Dickens Let. 1 June (1995) VIII. 128 Whom I found, with some Fireworkless little boys, in a desolate condition.
2005 Real Estate Leader (Lawrence, Kansas) 20 Aug. 2/1 Last year school seemed to start right after the fireworkless July 4th holiday.
ˈfireˌworky adj. resembling or reminiscent of a firework (sense 3b); spec. energetic, animated (cf. sense 3d).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > [adjective]
fireworky1859
jumpy1869
1859 Illustr. London News 12 Mar. 267/1 The fireworky fluency and animation of Lord Derby.
1887 Graphic 15 Jan. 66/2 The Major departed in his usual fireworky way.
1916 R. S. Liddell On Russ. Front ix. 99 There were no fireworky shells bursting on the Rawka front, except those of the enemy.
2006 A. Davies Goodbye Lemon iii. 283 I teeter a little on the bench, feeling a fireworky neural ignition in my head that makes my vision blur.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1528