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Etymology and origin of the English word kindle

Merriam-Webster and the OED give two words spelled kindle: to set fire to, probably from Old Norse, and to give birth, said of rabbits and hares, from kind, which the OED thinks influenced the first.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • /ˈkɪn.dəl/[4]

kindle1 set fire to

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing, Derivation
First attested
c. 1175, Ormulum
From
Old Norse kynda via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Old Norse kynda

Etymology

To set fire to is inherited from Middle English kindlen, probably from Old Norse kynda (“to light a fire, ignite”) with the frequentative suffix -le.[2][3][5][6] Barnhart and the OED compare kyndill (“a candle, torch”), which Collins and the Oxford Dictionary of English think influenced the word,[7][2][8][9] and the cognate Middle High German künten (“to kindle”) and Old High German cuntisal (“a fire”).[10][1] The Scandinavian verb is of unknown origin,[2][7] and Etymonline notes that modern sources do not connect it with Latin candēla (“candle”).[3] Old English had a different verb for setting fire to things, Old English ontendan, related to tinder.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To light a fire or set something on fire: c. 1175, in the Ormulum;[2][10] intransitive, to catch fire, from about 1225, in the Ancrene Riwle.[2] Etymonline dates the intransitive use to about 1400.[3]

Semantic evolution

The figurative uses came within two centuries: to arouse a feeling (c. 1390), to stir up a person or to start strife (a1400), and, intransitively, of a feeling, to rise (a1400).[2][3] It could also mean to light up or make bright (1685) and, intransitively, to begin to glow (1797), often of a person's eyes.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as to set on fire or make to burn, and figuratively to inflame the passions.[11] The noun kindling, wood for lighting a fire, is recorded from 1513.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – to light a fire (Ormulum).[2][10]
  • c. 1225 – to catch fire.[2]
  • c. 1390 – to arouse a feeling.[2]
  • a1400 – to stir up a person; to start strife.[2]
  • 1513 – kindling.[7]
  • 1685 – to make bright, as if with fire.[2]
  • 1797 – to begin to glow.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To set something alight or start a fire burning; to ignite: We kindled the stove with dry twigs.
  2. To catch fire and begin to burn.
  3. To arouse or awaken a feeling or interest; to inflame.
  4. To make or become bright or glowing.

Word family

  • kindling
  • kindler
  • rekindle
  • enkindle

kindle2 give birth

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1225, Ancrene Riwle
From
Middle English kindlen

Etymology

Giving birth is inherited from Middle English kindlen, from the noun kindel (“offspring, young animal”),[1][3][2] apparently formed on kind with the suffix -le,[2][1] from Old English gecynd.[3][12] The OED compares Middle High German kindel (“a small child”) and kindeln (“to bear young”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, any young of an animal, especially of a snake, and as a verb, of a female animal, to give birth to young: both about 1225, in the Ancrene Riwle.[2] Etymonline dates the verb to about 1200.[3]

Semantic evolution

The noun later meant a litter of kittens (1486, in the Boke of Saint Albans), and in kindle, of a hare, pregnant (1812).[2] Etymonline notes that this verb influenced the spelling, and in Middle English sometimes the sense, of the verb for setting fire.[3] Merriam-Webster labels the noun dialectal and says the verb is now used chiefly of rabbits.[1] In the dialects of Scotland and the north and Midlands of England, kindle was still the usual word for rabbits and other small animals bearing young in Wright's time.[13]

Timeline

  • c. 1225 – noun, a young animal; verb, to bear young.[2]
  • a1350 – intransitive, of a hare or rabbit, to give birth.[2]
  • 1486 – noun, a litter of kittens.[2]
  • 1812 – in kindle, pregnant.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. (chiefly dialect) Of a rabbit or hare, to give birth to young.

Noun

  1. (dialect) A litter of young animals, especially kittens.
  2. in kindle: of a rabbit or hare, pregnant.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  13. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)

Related etymologies

  • rotten · also from Old Norse
  • awe · also from Old Norse
  • scar · also from Old Norse
  • crawl · also from Old Norse
  • skate · also from Old Norse
  • troll · also from Old Norse
  • thrive · also from Old Norse
  • hank · also from Old Norse
Cite this entry

“Kindle.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/kindle. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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