Pyre Shares a Root With Pyrotechnics and Fever
A pyre is a pile of wood for burning a body. The Greek root behind it simply means fire.
A pyre is a heap of combustible material, especially one built for burning a body at a funeral. Greek *pyr*, fire, sits behind a large family: *pyromania*, *pyrotechnics*, *pyre*, *pyrite* (fool's gold, which sparks when struck) and *empyrean*, the highest heaven of fire. English *fire* itself is a distant cousin from the same Indo-European root. A funeral pyre needs to reach around 800 degrees to cremate fully, which is why traditional cremations use large quantities of wood.
- A funeral fire. *A funeral pyre.*
- A heap for burning. *A pyre of branches.*
- Pyromania. *Pyromania.*
- Pyrite — fool's gold. *Pyrite.*
- Greek — *pyr*, fire. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | pyre | A pyre. |
| Plural | pyres | Pyres. |
| Related | pyrotechnics | Pyrotechnics. |
| Related | pyre | Empyrean. |
| Greek | pyr | Fire. |
- They lit the funeral pyre.Ritual.
- Pyr means fire.Etymology.
- Pyrite sparks when struck.Mineral.
The pyr family
- Pyre — a fire built for burning
- Pyrotechnics — the art of fire, fireworks
- Pyromania — a compulsion to set fires
- Pyrite — a mineral that sparks on steel
- Empyrean — the highest heaven, of pure fire
Latin *pyra*, from Greek *pyr*, fire, distantly related to English *fire*.
Why is fool's gold called pyrite?
Because it throws sparks when struck against steel, from the Greek word for fire.
Is English fire related to Greek pyr?
Distantly. Both descend from the same Indo-European root, arriving by separate routes.