Inflammable
/ɪnˈflæm.ə.bəl/noun
Able to catch fire and burn easily.
Did you know?Inflammable comes from Latin *inflammare*, meaning “to set on fire,” and the word has caused so much confusion that English later created **flammable** as a warning-word twin.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰleh₁-
“to shine, flash, burn”
Latin
Latin
flamma
“a flame, blaze”
Latin
Latin
inflammāre
“to set on fire; kindle”
14th Century
Middle English
inflammable
“capable of being inflamed; easily set on fire”
Modern English
English
inflammable
“able to catch fire and burn easily”
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