engine

Pronunciation: /ˈɛnd͡ʒɪn/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work
  2. noun something used to achieve a purpose
  3. noun a wheeled vehicle consisting of a self-propelled engine that is used to draw trains along railway tracks

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”), related to ingignō (“to instil by birth, implant, produce in”). Compare gin, ingenious, engineer.

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
motor
Narrower (hyponyms)
aircraft engine, generator, heat engine, automobile engine, reaction-propulsion engine, auxiliary engine

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