Ignition
/ɪɡˈnɪʃən/noun
The act of setting something on fire or the process of starting an engine or other device.
Did you know?Its Latin ancestor *ignis* is the same fire-root behind words like *igneous*, and English inherited the whole fiery family through centuries of technical and magical-sounding vocabulary.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁n̥gʷnis
“fire”
Latin
Latin
ignis
“fire”
Latin
Latin
ignitio
“a kindling or lighting up”
Late Middle English
English
ignicion
“the act of kindling or setting on fire”
Modern English
English
ignition
“the act or process of igniting; starting combustion or an engine”