firn
noun
ˈfirn 
: névé
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Ice and firn, or dense snow leftover from previous seasons, also disappeared from the ridge. 
Kasha Patel, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Aug. 2022 More snow compacts the firn and it is gradually turned into glacial ice. John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Apr. 2022 But some research has suggested that the firn can fill up too quickly during years with high melt rates. Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, 2 Aug. 2019 The firn layer in the ice sheet, the boundary between snow and ice, is heating up and becoming denser. Umair Irfan, Vox, 8 Dec. 2018
Kasha Patel, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Aug. 2022 More snow compacts the firn and it is gradually turned into glacial ice. John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Apr. 2022 But some research has suggested that the firn can fill up too quickly during years with high melt rates. Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, 2 Aug. 2019 The firn layer in the ice sheet, the boundary between snow and ice, is heating up and becoming denser. Umair Irfan, Vox, 8 Dec. 2018 Word History
Etymology
German, from Old High German firni old; akin to Old English faran
First Known Use
1853, in the meaning defined above