engine

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Derived terms 1.3.2 Related terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.4 External links

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Etymology

From Middle English engin < Old French engin (“‘skill", "cleverness", "war machine’”) < Latin ingenium (“‘innate or natural quality, nature, genius, a genious, an invention, in LL. a war-engine, battering-ram’”) < ingenitum, past participle of ingignere (“‘to instil by birth, implant, produce in’”); see ingenious. Engine originally meant 'ingenuity, cunning' which eventually developed into meaning 'the product of ingenuity, a plot or snare' and 'tool, weapon'.

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /'ɛn.dʒin/, SAMPA: /"En.dZIn/.
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

[edit] Noun

engine (plural engines)

1. A mechanical device used to produce rotation to move vehicle or otherwise provide the force needed to generate kinetic energy.
2. A powered locomotive used for pulling cars on railways.
3. A person or group of people which influence a larger group.
4. (informal) the brain or heart.
5. (computing) A software system, not a complete program, responsible for a technical task (as in layout engine, physics engine).

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Related terms

[edit] Translations

[edit] External links

• engine in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• engine in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911