[f. FUR sb. + -Y1.]
A. adj.
1. Of or composed of fur; consisting of furs.
a. 1674. Milton, Hist. Mosc., ii. (1851), 483. The Furs which clothe them; the furry side in Summer outward.
1725. Pope, Odyss., XVII. 40. Euryclea spreads With furry spoils of beasts the splendid beds.
1881. R. Routledge, Hist. Sc., i. 1. Man is even unprotected from the vicissitudes of the seasons by the furry coat which covers the beasts of the field.
2. Of animals: Covered with fur; furred.
1687. Dryden, Hind & P., III. 24.
| But watch’d the time her vengeance to compleat, | |
| When all her furry sons in frequent Senate met. |
1823. Byron, Juan, X. xxvi. Bear-skins black and furry.
1873. G. C. Davies, Mount. & Mere, viii. 59. The attention is destracted by a furry little water-rat swimming along by the edge of the bank.
fig. 1865. Pall Mall G., 22 June, 11. He is one of those sleek ‘furry’ little men who are met with in all close religious communities.
3. Of persons: Wearing fur, clad in furs.
1717. Fenton, Ode Ld. Gower, 36. From Volga’s Banks, th’ imperious Czar Leads forth his Furry Troops to War.
4. Made of fur, lined or trimmed with fur.
1865. Kingsley, Herew. (1866), I. vi. 174. His handsome palfrey, furrey cloak, rich gloves and boots, moreover his air of command, showed him to be no common man.
1872. Bryant, Poems, Little People of Show, 97. With ample furry robe Close-belted round her waist.
b. transf. and fig.
1691. Dryden, K. Arthur, III. ii. Awake, awake, And winter from thy furry mantle shake.
1716. Rowe, Ode for N. Year, 1717, i. Winter! thou hoary, venerable Sire, All richly in thy furry Mantle clad.
1835. Sir J. Ross, Narr. 2nd Voy., xlvi. 590–1. Like the dormouse (though we may not sleep, which would be the most desirable condition by much), we wrap ourselves up in a sort of furry contentment, since better cannot be, and wait for the times to come.
5. Resembling fur, fur-like, soft.
1876. T. Hardy, Ethelberta (1890), 88. He beheld through some beech boughs an open space about ten yards in diameter, floored at the bottom with deep beds of curled old leaves from foregone years, and cushions of furry moss.
6. Of the nature of, or coated with, fur or morbid matter.
1739. ‘R Bull,’ trans. Dedekindus’ Grobianus, 222. Laughter misbecomes Foul furry Teeth.
1836. T. E. Hook, Gilbert Gurney, III. i. 31. Get out the wine, thought I—picturing to myself two foggy decanters, half full of the remnants of yesterday’s libation, with a sort of furry rim just over the surface.
1856. Canning, in Hare, Two Noble Lives (1893), II. 89. We have had to condemn dozens and dozens of gloves, and one’s shoes get furry with mildew in a day, and the lining of one’s hat is covered with a sort of eruption.
1871. Napheys, Prev. & Cure Dis., III. ii. 624. In slight fevers and moderate disturbances of the system, it [the tongue] will be observed to be covered with a light whitish or yellowish furry coating [of the tongue].
† B. sb. A hairy caterpillar. Obs.
1598. Florio, Millepiedi, a worme having manie feete, called a furrie or a palmer.
