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Origin and history of combustion

combustion(n.)

"action or process of burning," early 15c., from Old French combustion (13c.) and directly from Latin combustionem (nominative combustio) "a burning," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin comburere "to burn up, consume," from com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + *burere, based on a faulty separation of amburere "to burn around," which is properly ambi-urere, from urere "to burn, singe" (from PIE root *heus- "to burn;" see ember).

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to combustion

ember(n.)

"small, live coal," Old English æmerge "ember," merged with or influenced by Old Norse eimyrja, both from Proto-Germanic *aim-uzjon- "ashes," source also of Middle Low German emere, Old High German eimuria, German Ammern). The -b-, attested by mid-15c., is unetymological.

This is a compound of *aima- "ashes" (from PIE root *ai- (2) "to burn;" see edifice) + *uzjo- "to burn" (from PIE root *heus- "to burn." This root is also reconstructed as the source of Sanskrit osati "to burn, scorch," usna- "hot;" Greek euo "to singe;" Latin urere "to burn, singe;" Old Norse usli, Old English ysle "hot ashes," Old Norse ysja "fire").

combust(v.)

"to inflame, to burn," late 15c., from Latin combustus, past participle of comburere "to burn up, consume" (see combustion). "Now only jocular or affected" [OED]. Related: Combusted; combusting. Combust was used in Middle English from late 14c. as a past-participle adjective, "burnt," from Old French combust (14c.) and directly from Latin combustus. Also it was an astrological term for planets when near the sun.

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backfire
The noun meaning "premature ignition in an internal-combustion engine" is recorded by 1897....
fuel
As "combustible liquid for an internal combustion engine" from 1886. A French derivative is fouailler "woodyard."...
blast
The sense of "strong current of air forced into a furnace to accelerate combustion for iron-smelting" (1690s) led to blast...
damper
which deadens the string after the note is played; 1788 of a chimney, stove, etc., "metal plate in the flue used to control combustion...
internal
Internal-combustion in reference to an engine in which fuel is burned inside it, is from 1884. Related: Internally....
capnography
than that of producing Alps and glaciers, forests and châlets, waterfalls and wood-hung streams, out of very vapour of combustion—the...
plug
Electrical sense is from 1883, based on being inserted; meaning "sparking device in an internal combustion engine" is from...
ignition
1610s, "act of heating to the point of combustion," from French ignition or directly from Medieval Latin ignitionem (nominative ignitio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin ignire "set on fire," from ignis "fire" (see igneous). Meaning "means of sparking a fire" (o
fire
Old English fyr "fire, a fire," from Proto-Germanic *fūr- (source also of Old Saxon fiur, Old Frisian fiur, Old Norse fürr, Middle Dutch and Dutch vuur, Old High German fiur, German Feuer "fire"), from PIE *perjos, from root *paewr- "fire." Current spelling is attested as early a
rife
Old English rife "abundant, of common occurrence, prevalent," often of hurtful or obnoxious things, from Proto-Germanic *rif- (source also of Old Norse rifr, Swedish river, Norwegian riv, Middle Dutch riif, Middle Low German rive "abundant, generous"), said to be from PIE root *r

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