engine

Definitions

From Latin ingenium, 'inborn talent, natural cleverness' (in- 'in' + gen 'born'). An engine was first any product of cleverness — a clever contrivance or device — long before steam. Over time 'ingenious device' shrank to 'machine.' The whole word is from the gen family; the spelling hides it.

Why It Means This

Engine and ingenious are siblings: both come from ingenium, 'inborn cleverness.' Medieval war machines were called engines because they were clever inventions; the engineer was the person who built them. Only with the Industrial Revolution did engine settle on 'powered machine.' Modern metaphors (search engine, growth engine) revive the older idea: a clever device that drives things.

Common Collocations

• 1.start the engine启动发动机
• 2.engine trouble发动机故障
• 3.search engine搜索引擎
• 4.jet engine喷气发动机

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The car won't start because the engine is flooded.

• 2.

  Tourism is the engine of the island's economy.

• 3.

  She typed the question into the search engine.