incendiary

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈsɛn.dɪ.əɹ.i/, /ɪnˈsɛn.djəɹ.i/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin incendiārius (“causing a fire; an incendiary”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from incendium “fire, conflagration”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from incendere “to set on fire”, from in- and candere “to shine, glow”.^[2][3][4] It is related to incense, candle and incandescent.^[2][3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a person who maliciously sets fires (1402 in Barnhart; c. 1400 in Etymonline; 1606 in the OED);^[3][4][8] as an adjective, capable of being used to set fires (mid-15th century).^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century the adjective was used of the crime of arson (1611)^[8][4] and figuratively of speech or writing that inflames the passions, especially political ones (1614).^[8][4] The noun likewise came to mean a person who stirs up strife or sedition, an agitator (1631).^[8][4] Military use, of bombs and shells designed to set fire to the enemy's buildings and ships, dates from 1871,^[8][4] and the noun was used for an incendiary bomb from 1940.^[8] Merriam-Webster also records a colloquial sense, “extremely hot”, of peppers.^[5]

Timeline

• 1402 – noun, an arsonist.^[3]
• mid-15th century – adjective, used to set fires.^[4][3]
• 1611 – relating to arson.^[8]
• 1614 – inflaming the passions.^[8]
• 1631 – noun, an agitator.^[8]
• 1871 – of weapons, designed to start fires.^[8][4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Causing or capable of causing fire; of a weapon, containing chemicals that burn with intense heat.
2. Of or involving arson.
3. Tending to inflame or stir up strife; inflammatory.

Noun

1. A person who deliberately sets fire to property; an arsonist.
2. An incendiary device, such as a bomb.
3. A person who stirs up factions, quarrels or sedition; an agitator.

Word family

• incendiarism

Related words

• incense
• candle
• candid
• incandescent
• candor

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press