tinder

See also: Tinder

English

Etymology

From Middle English tinder, tunder, tender, tonder, from Old English tynder,[1] from Proto-Germanic *tundrą, *tundrǭ (“tinder”). Compare Saterland Frisian Tunder (“tinder”), Dutch tonder (“tinder”), German zünden (“to kindle”), Swedish tända (“to light, to set on fire”). More at tind.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈtɪndə/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈtɪndəɹ/
  • Rhymes: -ɪndə(r)
  • Homophone: tender (pen-pin merger)

Noun

tinder (uncountable)

  1. small dry sticks and finely-divided fibrous matter etc., used to help light a fire.

Usage notes

Tinder refers to the first stage of building a fire: sparks light tinder, which then lights kindling, which then lights the main fire.

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

tinder (third-person singular simple present tinders, present participle tindering, simple past and past participle tindered)

  1. (transitive) To set fire to; torch.
    • Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
      Is heaven a murderer when its lightning strikes a would-be murderer in his bed, tindering sheets and skin together?

References

  1. ↑ “tinder” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2018.

Anagrams

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