Where does “tinder” come from?
Tinder comes from Middle English tinder, from Old French tendre, from Latin tendere, meaning to stretch or extend, ultimately from Latin teneo, meaning to hold.
tinder (English): Small dry sticks and finely-divided fibrous...
Definitions
- Small dry sticks and finely-divided fibrous...
Ancestry of “tinder”, step by step
tinder traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English tonder
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | tonder | Alternative form of tinder |
| 2 | Middle English | tinder | tinder, firestarters |
| 3 | Old English | tynder | tinder |
| 4 | Old Norse | tundr | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tundrą | tinder |
via Middle English tender
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | tender | Alternative form of tinder |
| 2 | Old French | tendre | tender; to stretch |
| 3 | Latin | tendere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | tend- | to stretch, to extend; to split, cut off |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | temh₂- | to stretch, string; to cut |
via Middle English tunder
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | tunder | Alternative form of tinder |