kindle

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English[edit]

WOTD – 3 October 2006

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English kindel, from Old English cynd.

Verb[edit]

kindle ‎(third-person singular simple present kindles, present participle kindling, simple past and past participle kindled)

  1. (intransitive, of a rabbit or hare) To bring forth young; to give birth.
    • 2014, Karen Patry, The Rabbit-Raising Problem Solver, Storey Publishing (ISBN 9781612124667), page 146
      If she kindled and lost just a few kits and is not bony over her back and hind end, you can rebreed immediately. If she kindled a large litter (more than, say, eight kits), you may wish to wait a week or two before rebreeding so that she can  ...
    • Holland
      The poor beast had but lately kindled.

Noun[edit]

kindle ‎(plural kindles)

  1. (rare, collective) A group of kittens.
    A kindle of kittens.‎
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Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English kindlen, from Old Norse kynda ‎(“to inflame”), from Proto-Germanic *kundijaną.

Verb[edit]

kindle ‎(third-person singular simple present kindles, present participle kindling, simple past and past participle kindled)

  1. (transitive) To start (a fire) or light (a torch, a match, coals, etc.).
    • 1841, Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales, page 336:
      If a person kindle a fire in the house of another person, let him pay for the house to the owner, if it be burned.
    • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
      And then it was that I first perceived the danger in which I stood; for there was no hope of kindling a light, and I doubted now whether even in the light I could ever have done much to dislodge the great slab of slate.
    • 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
      Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To arouse or inspire (a passion, etc).
    He kindled an enthusiasm for the project in his fellow workers.‎
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