English
tinder
Tinder comes from Middle English tinder ‘tinder, firestarters’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *den-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*den-root as named
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tundrąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tundrreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tynder‘tinder, fuel’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tinder‘tinder, firestarters’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*den-root as named
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tundrąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tundrreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tynder‘tinder, fuel’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tinder‘tinder, firestarters’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice: “Strike on the Tinder, hoa: / Giue me a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *den-
through Middle English tinder ‘tinder, firestarters’
Today it means
noun Small dry sticks and finely-divided fibrous matter etc., used to help light a fire.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *den- / tinder