Obs. exc. dial. [f. FIRE sb. + FANG v.1] trans. To lay hold of with fire; to singe, scorch; in quot. absol. Also jocosely of the burning of heretics. Obs. in gen. sense.
1562. Scott, New Yere Gift to Quene, x., in Bannatyne Poems (1770), 194.
| Thay lost baith benifice and pentioun that mareit, | |
| And quha eit flesch on Fridayis was fyre-fangit. |
1618. M. Baret, Horsemanship, I. 37. A hasty fire does not only firefange … but also taketh away the true rellish.
Hence Fire-fanged ppl. a., † (a) gen. caught by the fire, singed, scorched (obs.); (b) spec. of barley, oatmeal, etc., of manure and straw; also of cheese: Having a scorched or singed appearance, smell, or taste, as if overheated. Fire-fanging vbl. sb., the action of the vb.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, XII. v. 202.
| And forthir, this Chorineus als so fast | |
| Ruschit on his fa, thus fyrefangit and onsaucht. |
1615. Markham, The English House-wife, II. vii. (1668), 166. Too rash and hasty a fire scorcheth and burneth it [i.e., the Malt], which is called among Maltsters Fire-fang’d; and such malt is good for little or no purpose.
1725. Bradley, Fam. Dict., s.v. Malt, With a moderate Fire, for fear of Fire-fanging.
1790. Grose, Prov. Gloss. (ed. 2), Fire-fanged. Fire-bitten. Spoken of oatmeal &c. that is over-dried. North.
1808. Jamieson s.v., Cheese is said to be firefangit, when it is swelled and cracked, and has received a peculiar taste, in consequence of being exposed to much heat before it has been dried.
1869. Peacock, Lonsdale Gloss., Fire-fanged, of oats or barley too hastily dried in the kiln.
