fire edgen.
/ˈfʌɪə(r) ɛdʒ/, U.S. /ˈfaɪ(ə)r ɛdʒ/ 1. The cutting edge of a newly-forged blade hardened by fire. Chiefly figurative: keenness, freshness, or vitality; the quality of being hard, stern, or inflexible. Now regional.
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the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > mental or moral vigour
spirita1382
spritec1540
fire edgea1572
mettle1581
vigour1587
springa1682
peppiness1921
Schwung1930
a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. in Wks. (1846) I. 275 I perceave by your anger that the fyre-edge is nott of you yit.
1615 G. Markham Countrey Contentments i. ii. 62 This lesson..would euer be practised, the first in the morning whilest a Horse is fresh and lusty, for to put him to them after his fire edge is taken awaie, will but bring him to a loathing of his instruction.
a1684 R. Leighton Pract. Comm. 1st Epist. Peter (1694) II. 159 Blunt that fire-edge upon your own hard and disordered hearts.
1758 J. Rutherford Thoughts on Believers Baptism App. 76 Though this Conviction did not terminate in a Resolution to break off from by own Community, yet it took down the Fire Edge of a narrow, bigotted Spirit, and produced a more generous Turn of Mind towards good People of all Persuasions.
1831 London & Paris Observer (Paris) 21 Aug. 340/1 The stout Mimer proceeded to forge the sword Mimung, with which..he..cut asunder ‘a thread of wool floating on water’. This would have seemed a fair fire-edge to most smiths; not so Mimer.
1878 W. Dickinson Gloss. Words & Phrases Cumberland (ed. 2) (at cited word) He gallop't his laal nag till t' fire edge was off.
1914 Irish Rev. 3 657 When the fire edge was taken off Bryan's appetite, he looked round.
2006 Chambers Dict. at Fire Fire-edge (dialect) a cutting edge hardened by fire..; first eagerness.
2. The outer extent of a wildfire, esp. the leading edge.
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1906 Pastoralists' Rev. 15 Feb. 974/2 The jet..should generally be directed..on the grass edge rather than on the fire edge of fire, and rarely or never on to the burning ground.
1963 N.Y. Times 27 Oct. 46/8 The water is shot from the planes through high pressure nozzles, producing a heavy mist at the fire edge.
1971 Employment Air Operations in Fire Services (National Acad. Sci.) ii. 98 Direct attack involves working at or near the fire edge using tactics of hot spotting, cold trailing, burning out, [etc.]
2008 P. Cheney & A. Sullivan Grassfires ix. 112 Infra-red imagery may show the heated air in and around the fire as the same colour as flame and thus obscure the real fire edge.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1572