entry
engine
/ˈendʒɪn/Machine that converts energy into motion
From Proto-Indo-European in (in) + Latin gignere (to beget).
from Latin ingenium "innate qualities, ability; inborn character," in Late Latin "a war engine, battering ram"...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.)
from Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.)
from Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.)
Word Ancestry
from Latin ingenium "innate qualities, ability; inborn character," in Late Latin "a war engine, battering ram"...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.)
from Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.)
from Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.)
Engine started life in a very human place: the Latin idea of ingenium, “what you’re born with.” That’s the same family that gives us ingenious, genius, and even generate — all hung around the old notion of birth and making. In medieval France, engin could mean a clever trick or a siege machine, which makes perfect sense if you imagine a castle wall suddenly meeting a very determined battering ram. By 1300 English had borrowed the word, and by the 1800s steam turned engine into the hulking thing driving trains and factories. So the word’s history runs from inborn talent to iron machinery — a pretty wild commute.
The Story
Engine started life in a very human place: the Latin idea of ingenium, “what you’re born with.” That’s the same family that gives us ingenious, genius, and even generate — all hung around the old notion of birth and making. In medieval France, engin could mean a clever trick or a siege machine, which makes perfect sense if you imagine a castle wall suddenly meeting a very determined battering ram. By 1300 English had borrowed the word, and by the 1800s steam turned engine into the hulking thing driving trains and factories. So the word’s history runs from inborn talent to iron machinery — a pretty wild commute.
Kin & Kindred
From 'in'·in, within
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'gignere'·to beget, produce
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia