Flammable
/ˈflæm.ə.bəl/noun
Able to catch fire easily.
Did you know?Flammable comes from Latin flammāre, “to set on fire,” and the word is so close to inflammable that both once caused real confusion on labels and safety signs.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰleh₁- / *bʰleg-
“to blaze, burn”
Latin
Latin
flamma
“a flame, blaze”
Latin
Latin
flammāre
“to set on fire; to blaze”
Late Latin
Latin
flammābilis
“capable of burning”
Middle English / Modern English
English
flammable
“easily set on fire”
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