extinguisher

Etymology

It is formed from English extinguish + -er,^[2][3][4][5] an agent noun from the verb.^[3] Extinguish, recorded from 1540,^[2] is from Latin exstinguō (“to quench, put out”), from ex- and stinguō (“to quench”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who or that which puts something out: 1562, in Peter Whitehorne's translation of Machiavelli's Arte of Warre.^[2][6] Etymonline gives the 1550s,^[3] and Dictionary.com 1550–60.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The general sense covered anyone who put out anything, in any sense.^[3][2] From before 1643, in Cartwright, the word was used for a hollow cone placed over a candle or lamp to put out its flame,^[2][4] and also for larger cones once fixed to the railings of houses.^[2] Johnson (1755) gave only this sense, "a hollow cone put upon a candle to quench it".^[7] Figurative uses follow from 1695.^[2] The fire-fighting device came in the 19th century: the Historical Thesaurus dates it to 1814 and the Shorter Oxford to the early 19th century,^[6][4] while Etymonline gives 1887.^[3] In Australian boxing slang of 1847 an extinguisher was a knock-down blow.^[8]

Timeline

• 1562 – one who or that which extinguishes.^[2][6]
• before 1643 – a hollow cone for putting out a candle.^[2]
• 1695 – in figurative use.^[2]
• 1814 – a device for putting out fires.^[6] Etymonline dates this sense to 1887.^[3]
• 1847 – slang, a knock-down blow.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A portable device that sprays water, foam or chemicals onto a fire to put it out; a fire extinguisher.^[9][10][2]
2. A small hollow cone, often on a handle, for putting out a candle; a snuffer.^{[9][10][2][7]}
3. A person or thing that extinguishes something.^[10][2]

Related words

• extinguish
• extinct
• distinguish
• fire extinguisher

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
7. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster