fiery definition

1. Consisting of, containing, or resembling, fire; as, the fiery gulf of Etna; a fiery appearance. "And fiery billows roll below." (I. Watts)

2. Vehement; ardent; very active; impetuous. "Hath thy fiery heart so parched thine entrails?" (Shak) "The fiery spirit of his forefathers." (W. Irwing)

3. Passionate; easily provoked; irritable. "You kniw the fiery quality of the duke." (Shak)

4. Unrestrained; fierce; mettlesome; spirited. "One curbed the fiery steed." (Dryden)

5. Heated by fire, or as if by fire; burning hot; parched; feverish. "The sword which is made fiery." (Hooker) Fiery cross, a cross constructed of two firebrands, and pitched upon the point of a spear; formerly in Scotland borne by a runner as a signal for the clan to take up arms.

Origin: Formerly written firy, fr. Fire.