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firebed

firebed

9.3
A layer of ash or charcoal in the ground showing a past fire
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪərˌbɛd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cama de fuego
  • The archaeologists discovered a firebed rich in charcoal and ash during their excavation.

Examples

  • The firebed showed clear signs of a fire that had burned in the area centuries ago.

  • After the wildfires, the ground was covered with a dense firebed of blackened earth.

  • The stone, its mortar sifting drily into the firebed, swung free.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

ash
vsfirebed
339 1.0

The gray powder left after something burns

is a continuous layer of burnt material showing past fire rather than single residue
cinder
vsfirebed
35 5.0

A small piece of partly burned wood or coal that is still hot

is a layered deposit of fully burnt material not a single smoldering piece

Surface Forms

firebed singular
firebeds plural

Morphology

firebed = fire + bed (semi-transparent) = fire + bed

While 'fire' and 'bed' are clear, the specific meaning of a layer of burnt material is not a direct derivation.

Etymology

Firebed is a simple compound of fire and bed, where bed means a 'place' or 'layer' something lies, like in riverbed or flowerbed. So a firebed is a layer of burned material left in the ground after a past fire, which helps people see where fires once burned.