English
engine
Engine comes from Old French engin ‘intelligence, ruse’, from Latin ingenium ‘innate quality; invention’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to beget’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵíǵn̥h₁eti‘to engender’reconstructedreduplicated present stem of *ǵenh₁-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gignōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgignō‘to bear, beget’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEingenium‘innate quality, nature; invention’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400engin‘intelligence; ruse’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400engine
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500engyn
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588engine
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵíǵn̥h₁eti‘to engender’reconstructedreduplicated present stem of *ǵenh₁-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gignōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgignō‘to bear, beget’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEingenium‘innate quality, nature; invention’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400engin‘intelligence; ruse’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400engine
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500engyn
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588engine
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Their warlike Engins and munition Exceed the forces of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce, beget’
kind, general, nature, german, nation, native, king, pregnant, generation, gender, oxygen, gentle, genre, ken, generate, indigenous, generous, hydrogen, gene, naive, genuine, genocide, noel, genus, natal, kin, innate, germ, nativity, nada, naïve, janata, nee, nascent, gentile, puny, cognate, gens, glycogen, jaunty, 110 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵíǵn̥h₁eti ‘to engender’
through Proto-Italic *gignō
through Latin gignō ‘to bring forth as a fruit of oneself: to bear,…’
through Latin ingenium ‘innate or natural quality, nature, genius, a…’
Today it means
noun A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / engine