firn
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Related to firn: firn snow
firn
(fîrn)n.
Granular, partially consolidated snow that has passed through one summer melt season but is not yet glacial ice. Also called old snow.
[German, from German dialectal (Alemannic), of last year, from Old High German firni, old; see per in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
firn
(fɪən)n
(Geological Science) another name for névé1
[C19: from German (Swiss dialect) firn of the previous year, from Old High German firni old]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
né•vé
(neɪˈveɪ)n., pl. -vés.
1. granular snow accumulated on high mountains and subsequently compacted into glacial ice.
2. a field of such snow. Also called firn.
[1850–55; < Franco-Provençal]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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