Where does “engine” come from?
Engine comes from Anglo-Norman engine, from Old French engin, from Latin ingenium meaning natural talent or cleverness, derived from Latin in and genus meaning born or produced.
engine (English): A large construction used in warfare, such as a...
Definitions
- A large construction used in warfare, such as a...
Ancestry of “engine”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | engyn | engine; Engyn, Middle English, noun - skill,... |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | engine | — |
| 3 | Old French | engin | intelligence; ruse; trickery; deception;... |
| 4 | Latin | ingenium | innate or natural quality, natural character;... |
| 5 | Latin | gignere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 6 | Latin | genere | ablative singular of genus; to beget, produce |
| 7 | Latin | genus | birth, origin, lineage, descent; kind, type,... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | genos | lineage, origin |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵénh₁os | race, lineage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |