Definition of EMBER

ember

Plural: embers

Noun

  • A glowing, hot fragment from a fire.
  • a hot fragment of wood or coal that is left from a fire and is glowing or smoldering
  • A piece of coal or wood glowing by heat; a hot coal.
  • Smoldering ash.

Adj

  • Making a circuit of the year or the seasons; recurring in each quarter of the year, as certain religious days set apart for fasting and prayer.

Examples

  • ember days
  • ember fasts
  • ember weeks
  • Even a single ’S’ tile, like a lone ember, can spark a high-scoring play.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English embre, eymbre, aymer, eymere, emeri, from Old English ǣmyrġe, from Proto-West Germanic *aimuʀjā, from Proto-Germanic *aimuzjǭ, a compound of *aimaz + *uzjǭ. The latter is from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ews- (“to burn”). The b is intrusive and was added in English for ease of pronunciation when the vowel of the second syllable (y) disappeared.
See also Old High German eimuria (“pyre”), Danish emmer, Swedish mörja (“embers”).

Synonyms

coal

Scrabble Score: 9

ember: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
ember: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
ember: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

ember: valid Words With Friends Word