engine

English

An automobile engine

A miniature railway engine

Etymology

From Middle English engyn, from Anglo-Norman engine, Old French engin (“skill, cleverness, war machine”), from Latin ingenium (“innate or natural quality, nature, genius, a genius, an invention, (in Late Latin) a war-engine, battering-ram”), from ingenitum, past participle of ingignō (“to instil by birth, implant, produce in”). Compare gin, ingenious, engineer.

Pronunciation

(UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈɛnd͡ʒɪn/
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈend͡ʒɪn/, /ˈend͡ʒən/
(New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈend͡ʒɘn/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛndʒɪn, -endʒɪn, -endʒən
Hyphenation: en‧gine

Noun

engine (plural engines)

A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc. [from 14th c.]
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], part 1, 2nd edition, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, OCLC 932920499; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act IV, scene i:
  Their warlike Engins and munition
  Exceed the forces of their martial men.
(now archaic) A tool; a utensil or implement. [from 14th c.]
- 1714, Bernard Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees:
  Flattery must be the most powerful Argument that cou'd be used to Human Creatures. Making use of this bewitching Engine, they extoll'd the Excellency of our Nature above other Animals [...].
- 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], OCLC 960856019, lines 248–251, page 15:
  What if the Foot, ordain'd the duſt to tread, / Or Hand, to toil, aſpir'd to be the Head? / What if the Head, the Eye, or Ear repin'd / To ſerve mere Engines to the ruling Mind?
A complex mechanical device which converts energy into useful motion or physical effects. [from 16th c.]
A person or group of people which influence a larger group; a driving force. [from 16th c.]
- 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, page 75:
  In France, the parliament soon became a mere engine in the hands of a few high-born and ambitious men, who had nothing in common with its interests, which were those of the people.
The part of a car or other vehicle which provides the force for motion, now especially one powered by internal combustion. [from 19th c.]
A self-powered vehicle, especially a locomotive, used for pulling cars along a track. [from 19th c.]
(computing) A software or hardware system responsible for a specific technical task (usually with qualifying word). [from 20th c.]
a graphics engine
a physics engine
(obsolete) Ingenuity; cunning, trickery, guile. [13th–17th c.]
(obsolete) The result of cunning; something ingenious, a contrivance; (in negative senses) a plot, a scheme. [13th–18th c.]
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, page 193:
  Therefore this craftie engine he did frame, / Againſt his praiſe to ſtirre vp enmitye [...].
(obsolete) Natural talent; genius. [14th–17th c.]
Anything used to effect a purpose; any device or contrivance; an agent.
- c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s VVell, that Ends VVell”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene v], page 243, column 1:
  [...] their promiſes, entiſements, oathes, tokens, and all theſe engines of luſt [...].
- 1678, John Bunyan, “The Author’s Apology for His Book”, in The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], OCLC 228725984; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress (The Noel Douglas Replicas), London: Noel Douglas, […], 1928, OCLC 5190338:
  You ſee the ways the Fiſher-man doth take / To catch the Fiſh; what Engins doth he make?

Synonyms

motor
locomotive

Derived terms

aero engine
aircraft engine
air engine
analytical engine
atmospheric engine
banking engine
beam engine
beer engine
boxer engine
chaff engine
chemical engine
chess engine
combustion engine
compound engine
corncob engine
Cornish engine
crate engine
database engine
dental engine
diesel engine
difference engine
dividing engine
donkey engine
draught engine
duct engine
East-West engine
employ a steam engine to crack a nut
engine bay
engine block
engine braking
engine cleaner
engine compartment
engine displacement
engine driver
engineer
engine generator
engine-generator
engine hour
engine house
engine lathe
engine oil
engine order telegraph
engine room
engine shed
engine trouble
engine-turned
engine turning
entry ignition engine
ether engine
fire engine
fire engine red
four-stroke engine
game engine
garden engine
gas engine
gas engine
graphics engine
harmonic engine
heat engine
Hero engine
human flesh search engine
in-engine
information engine
in-line engine
internal-combustion engine
internal combustion engine
ion engine
jet engine
light engine
man engine
marine engine
metasearch engine
military engine
mill engine
monkey engine
one engine in steam
Otto engine
overhead engine
pancake engine
petrol engine
physics engine
pilot engine
piston engine
pony engine
pulp engine
pulse detonation engine
radial engine
reaction engine
reciprocating engine
re-engine, reengine (verbs)
ringing engine
rocket engine
rose engine
rotary engine
search engine
search-engine-friendly
search engine optimization
shunting engine
siege engine
simple engine
software engine
solar engine
spit engine
stationary engine
steam engine
steam-engine
steeple engine
Stirling engine
storage engine
straight engine
switch engine
tandem engine
tank engine
tender engine
traction engine
twin-engine
two-stroke engine
Wankel engine
water engine
W engine
wind engine
winding engine

Related terms

Terms etymologically related to engine

engineer
genius
ingenious
ingeniosity

Descendants

→ Afrikaans: enjin
→ Bashkir: ইঞ্জিন (ইঞ্জিন)
→ Hindi: इंजन (iñjan)
→ Japanese: エンジン
- → Hakka: 引擎 (ên-chín)
- → Min Nan: 引擎 (ia̋n-jín)
→ Malay: enjin
- Indonesian: enjin
→ Scottish Gaelic: einnsean
→ Swedish: injini
→ Shanghainese: 引擎 (in¹-jin⁶)
- → Chinese: 引擎 (yǐnqíng)

Translations

mechanical device

Afrikaans: enjin
Albanian: motor (sq) m
Arabic: مُحَرِّك‎ m (muḥarrik), مُوتُور‎ m (mūtūr)
Armenian: շարժիչ (hy) (šaržičʿ)
Asturian: motor (ast) m
Azerbaijani: mühərrik (az), motor
Bashkir: двигатель (dvigatel’), мотор (motor)
Basque: motor (eu) sg
Belarusian: рухаві́к m (ruxavík), мато́р m (matór)
Bengali: ইঞ্জিন (bn) (iô͂jin), মোটর (moṭôrô)
Bulgarian: мото́р (bg) m (motór), дви́гател (bg) m (dvígatel)
Burmese: အင်ဂျင် (my) (anggyang), စက်ခေါင်း (my) (cakhkaung:)
Catalan: motor (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 引擎 (zh) (yǐnqíng), 發動機／发动机 (zh) (fādòngjī), 馬達／马达 (zh) (mǎdá), 摩托 (zh) (mótuō)
Coptic: ⲙⲏⲭⲁⲛⲏ f (mēkhanē)
Cornish: jynn m
Czech: motor (cs) m
Danish: motor (da) c
Dutch: motor (nl) m, aandrijving (nl) f
Esperanto: motoro
Estonian: mootor
Finnish: moottori (fi)
French: moteur (fr) m
Galician: motor m
Georgian: ძრავა (ʒrava), მატორი (maṭori)
German: Motor (de) m, Triebwerk (de) n, Antrieb (de) m
Greek: μηχανή (el) f (michaní), κινητήρας (el) f (kinitíras)
Ancient Greek: μηχανή f (mēkhanḗ)
Hebrew: מָנוֹעַ‎ (he) m (manóa)
Hindi: इंजन (hi) (iñjan), मोटर (hi) (moṭar)
Hungarian: motor (hu)
Icelandic: mótor (is)
Ido: mashino (io)
Indonesian: mesin (id), motor (id), enjin (id)
Interlingua: motor
Irish: inneall m, mótair
Italian: motore (it) m
Japanese: エンジン (ja) (enjin), 機関 (ja) (きかん, kikan), 機械 (ja) (きかい, kikai), モーター (ja) (mōtā), 発動機 (ja) (はつどうき, hatsudōki), 原動機 (ja) (げんどうき, kendōki)
Kazakh: қозғалтқыш (qozğaltqyş), мотор (kk) (motor)
Khmer: ម៉ូតូ (moutou), ម៉ាស៊ីន (km) (maasɨn)
Korean: 기관(機關) (ko) (gigwan), 모터 (ko) (moteo), 엔진 (ko) (enjin)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: makîne (ku)
Kyrgyz: кыймылдаткыч (kıymıldatkıç), мотор (ky) (motor)
Lao: ເຄື່ອງຈັກ (lo) (khư̄ang chak)
Latvian: dzinējs m, motors m
Lithuanian: variklis m, motoras m
Macedonian: мо́тор m (mótor)
Malay: enjin (ms)
Maltese: mutur m
Maori: initia, mīhini (mi), pūkaha
Mongolian: хөдөлгүүр (mn) (xödölgüür), мотор (mn) (motor)
Navajo: atsiitsʼiin
Norwegian:
Bokmål: motor (no) m
Nynorsk: motor m
Pashto: انجن‎ (ps) m (enǰǝ́n), ماشين‎ m (māšín)
Persian: موتور‎ (fa) (motor), محرک‎ (fa) (moharrek)
Plautdietsch: Inzhen m
Polish: silnik (pl) m, motor (pl) m
Portuguese: motor (pt) m
Romanian: motor (ro) n
Russian: дви́гатель (ru) m (dvígatelʹ), мото́р (ru) m (motór)
Scots: ingine
Scottish Gaelic: einnsean m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: мотор m
Roman: motor (sh) m
Sinhalese: එන්ජිම (si) (enjima)
Slovak: motor m
Slovene: motor (sl) m
Spanish: motor (es) m
Swahili: injini (sw)
Swedish: motor (sv) c
Tagalog: likhisog
Tajik: муҳаррик (muharrik), мотор (motor)
Tatar: йөрткеч (tt) (yörtkeç), мотор (motor)
Thai: เครื่องยนต์ (th) (krʉ̂ʉang-yon), มอเตอร์ (mɔɔ-dtə̂ə)
Turkish: motor (tr)
Turkmen: dwigatel, motor
Ukrainian: двигу́н (uk) m (dvyhún), мото́р m (motór)
Urdu: انجن‎ (injan), موٹر‎ (moṭar)
Uyghur: ماتور‎ (mator)
Uzbek: motor (uz), dvigatel (uz)
Vietnamese: động cơ (vi)
Welsh: peiriant (cy) m, ermig m or f
Yiddish: מאָטאָר‎ m (motor)

locomotive — see locomotive

influential group

Bulgarian: дви́гател (bg) m (dvígatel)
French: moteur (fr) m
German: Motor (de) m
Italian: motore (it) m
Macedonian: дви́гател m (dvígatel)
Romanian: motor (ro) n
Russian: дви́гатель (ru) m (dvígatelʹ)
Swedish: motor (sv) n

software or hardware system responsible for a specific technical task

Esperanto: motoro
Finnish: moottori (fi)
Japanese: エンジン (ja) (enjin)
Macedonian: дви́гател m (dvígatel)
Polish: aparat (pl) m, mechanizm (pl) m, silnik (pl) m
Portuguese: motor (pt) m
Russian: движо́к (ru) m (dvižók)
Spanish: motor (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} mesin (id)
Korean: ^{(please verify)} 엔진 (ko) (enjin)

Verb

engine (third-person singular simple present engines, present participle engining, simple past and past participle engined)

(transitive, dated) To equip with an engine; said especially of steam vessels.
Vessels are often built by one firm and engined by another.
(transitive, obsolete) To assault with an engine.
- 1629, Thomas Adams, Plain-Dealing
  to engine and batter our walls
(transitive, obsolete) To contrive; to put into action.
(transitive, obsolete) To rack; to torture.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)
- Quoted in 1977, Virginia Brown (ed.), Mediaeval Studies (volume XXXIX), Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, Canada
  In the year 1433 a merchant complained to Commons that the lord of the port city of Gildo in Brittany had imprisoned a servant of his ‘and engined him so that he was in point of death’ (Rot. pari. 4.475).

Anagrams

ginnee

Chinese

Alternative forms

(Hong Kong Cantonese) N展 (en1 zin2)
(Hong Kong Cantonese) engin (en1 zin2)

Etymology 1

From clipping of English engineering.

Pronunciation

Cantonese (Jyutping): en¹ zin²

Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: en¹ zin²
  - Yale: colloquial sounds not defined
  - Cantonese Pinyin: en¹ dzin²
  - Guangdong Romanization: colloquial sounds not defined
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɛːn⁵⁵ t͡siːn³⁵/

Noun

engine

(Hong Kong Cantonese) engineering industry; engineer
(Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang) engineering

Etymology 2

From English engine.

Pronunciation

Cantonese (Jyutping): en¹ zin⁴, en¹ zin²

Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: en¹ zin⁴, en¹ zin²
  - Yale: colloquial sounds not defined, colloquial sounds not defined
  - Cantonese Pinyin: en¹ dzin⁴, en¹ dzin²
  - Guangdong Romanization: colloquial sounds not defined, colloquial sounds not defined
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɛːn⁵⁵ t͡siːn²¹/, /ɛːn⁵⁵ t͡siːn³⁵/

Noun

engine

(Hong Kong Cantonese) engine (mechanical device; part of a vehicle; computing)

Synonyms

(engine):

edit

偈 (Cantonese)
引擎 (yǐnqíng)
摩打 (Cantonese)
摩托 (mótuō)

動力機／动力机 (dònglìjī)
發動機／发动机 (fādòngjī)
馬達／马达 (mǎdá)

engine

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Translations

Verb

Further reading

Anagrams

Chinese

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms