fire hook

[Eng. fire, and hook.] 1. A large hook on the end of a pole for tearing down buildings on fire, so as to arrest a fire. 2. Steam - eng.: A kind of hook for raking and stirring the furnace fire. *fire-house, s. [Eng. fire, and house.] A hearth. fï're-le , a. [Eng. fire, and le .] 1. Ord . Lang .: Destitute of or without fire. 2. Anthrop .: A term applied to races who are said to be ignorant of any method of producing fire. Many ethnographers doubt if peoples in such a low state of culture exist. fire-lock, s. [Eng. fire, and lock.] 1. Lit .: A musket or other gun provided with a lock furnished with a flint and steel, by means of which fire was produced to discharge it, as distinguished from a matchlock, which was fired by means of a match. *2. Fig .: A term of contempt. "Damn that old firelock, what a clatter he makes!" History of Jack Connor, i. 233 (1752).