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fire·crack·er

(fīrkrăk′ər)

1. A small explosive charge and a fuse in a heavy paper casing, exploded to make noise, as at celebrations.

2. Slang A spirited, quick-tempered, or rambunctious person.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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