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ember

English

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ember¹

  • /ˈɛm.bə/ UK
  • /ˈem.bə/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ˈɛm.bɚ/ Canada, US
  • /ˈɪm.bɚ/

Rhymes with -ɛmbə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English embre, eymbre, aymer, eymere, emeri, from Old English ǣmyrġe, from Proto-West Germanic *aimuʀjā, from Proto-Germanic *aimuzjǭ, a compound of *aimaz + *uzjǭ. The latter is from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ews- (“to burn”). The b is intrusive and was added in English for ease of pronunciation when the vowel of the second syllable (y) disappeared.

See also Old High German eimuria (“pyre”), Danish emmer, Swedish mörja (“embers”).

noun embers

  1. A piece of coal or wood glowing by heat; a hot coal.
  2. Smoldering ash.

ember²

  • /ˈɛm.bə/ UK
  • /ˈem.bə/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ˈɛm.bɚ/ Canada, US
  • /ˈɪm.bɚ/

Rhymes with -ɛmbə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English embryne (“running around, circuit”), from Old English ymbryne (“course; circuit”). Spelling changed through folk etymology. By surface analysis, umb- + run.

adjective

  1. not comparable Making a circuit of the year or the seasons; recurring in each quarter of the year, as certain religious days set apart for fasting and prayer. ember fasts

Ember³

proper noun

  1. rare A unisex given name. This conversation took place at an advertising agency between an American copywriter named Ember (E), and one of his Japanese co-workers named Nakada (N).

Translations

Every language

noun glowing piece of coal or wood

Españolbrasa, ascua, rescoldo, rescaldo (disused), borrajo
한국어등걸불 deunggeolbul
日本語種火 tanebi, 余燼 yojin, 残り火 nokoribi
中文餘燼 /余烬 yújìn
हिन्दीशोले śole, अंगारा aṅgārā
Portuguêsbrasa
Françaisbrandon, braise, tison
Deutschglühende Kohle, Glut
Italianobrace, tizzone
Ελληνικάθράκα thráka
Românătăciune
Русскийуголёк ugoljók, тле́ющие у́гли tléjuščije úgli, тле́ющие угольки́ tléjuščije ugolʹkí, жар žar
Tiếng Việtthan hồng
العربيةجَمْرَة jamra
עבריתרֶמֶץ rémets, גַּחֶלֶת gakhélet

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MLA

"ember." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ember. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ember. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ember

Chicago

"ember." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ember.

BibTeX
@misc{ember_2026,
  title = {ember},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ember},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}