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firn

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firn

  [feern]
Use firn in a Sentence
–noun
névé.
Origin:
1850–55; < G (Swiss), n. use of firn last year's, old; c. OE fyrn former, ancient, Goth fairneis; akin to ON forn ancient. See before
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né⋅vé

  [ney-vey]
–noun
1. granular snow accumulated on high mountains and subsequently compacted into glacial ice.
2. a field of such snow.
Also called firn, old snow.

Origin:
1850–55; < Franco-Provençal < VL *nivātum, n. use of neut. of L nivātus snow-cooled, equiv. to niv- (s. of nix snow ) + -ātus -ate 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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, of last year, from Old High German firni, old.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Science Dictionary
firn   (fîrn)  Pronunciation Key 
Granular, partially consolidated snow that has passed through one summer melt season but is not yet glacial ice. Firn becomes glacial ice once it has become impermeable to liquid water.
névé   (nā-vā')  Pronunciation Key 

  1. The upper part of a glacier, consisting of hardened snow.

  2. The granular snow typically found in such a field.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

firn

partially compacted granular snow that is the intermediate stage between snow and glacial ice. Firn is found under the snow that accumulates at the head of a glacier. It is formed under the pressure of overlying snow by the processes of compaction, recrystallization, localized melting, and the crushing of individual snowflakes. This process is thought to take a period of about one year. Annual layers of firn may often be detected by thin films of dust or ash that accumulate on the surface during each summer.

Learn more about firn with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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