firn

Etymology

Borrowed from German Firn, which goes back through Alemannic German firn ("last year's") and Old High German firni ("old") to Proto-West Germanic [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *firnijaz, *fernaz ("foregoing, previous"), and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *per- ("forth, forward, across, through"). It is cognate with Old English fyrn ("former"), Old Norse forn ("old"), and Gothic ???????? (fairneis, "old").