Origin of the word 'engineer'?
Origin of the word 'engineer'?
(OP)
Does anyone know the origin of the word 'engineer'?
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Origin of the word 'engineer'?
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Origin of the word 'engineer'?Origin of the word 'engineer'?(OP)
Does anyone know the origin of the word 'engineer'?
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RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
corus
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
PS: The origin of the word proposed by corus is far more funny, anyway!
Che Dio ce la mandi buona, o almeno ce la mandi- Massimiliano Eusebi
Check eng-tips rules: FAQ731-376
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
I MAY also stem from Ingenuous - which also describes many of us individuals with same profession.
The proof is in the spelling. We spell it Ingeniör and that points to the Ingenious theory.
The fact that the guys that cared and fed steam engines in those distant days were called Engineers probably has nothing to do with the modern usage of the word Engineer. A pure coincidence. Isn't it?
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
try this
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
"Summing up on the origin of the name engineer, the discussion concerns whether ingeniarus o ingenia(tus), from the Low Latin, come or referred to an ingenious person, that one who invented or designed war machines, or rather it came from engine, as applied to engine operator, war machine assistant"
Which, I think, covers two of my possibilities. Why Ingenuous isn't mentioned, I do not understand - we are that, too.
ingenuous \in-JEN-yoo-uhs\, adjective:
1. Demonstrating childlike simplicity; innocent; naive.
2. Free from reserve, restraint, or guile; open; frank.
3. [Obsolete] Noble; honorable.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
Apparently not everyone thought the first military Engineers were geniuses, even William Shakespeare:
A petard was a crudely made explosive used in the era to attack enemy walls during a siege. Due to the way they were made, the petards often exploded prematurely, "hoisting" the engineer up into the air...
(Petard comes from the french word peter: "to break wind")
Source: William Gurstelle's "Backyard Ballistics"
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
A long deceased state govenor some years ago, (before my time) giving the graduation speech at our university was trying to mention the major fields of all the graduates, and as part of the "I hope all you teachers get a new school, nurses a new hospital to work in, etc., is said to have included these words. "I hope all you engineers get a new train to drive."
The term "train driver" stuck for years at our university.
rmw
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
..English speakers tend to think that the word "engineering" is related to the word for "engine," thus
engineers are people who work with engines. In fact, "engineer" comes from the French word "ingenieur,"
which derives from the same latin roots as the words "ingenuity" and "genius." Engineering is the profession of creative solution to difficult problems....
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
hmmm.. makes some sense.. engine .... ingeneous machine...
-----> ingine (I know its not a real word)
So it appears that engine could be a relettered contraction of ingeneous machine.
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
From wikipedia.com
Suggests there's a link.
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
It is a myth that engineer originated to describe those who built engines. In fact, the words engine and engineer (as well as ingenious) developed in parallel from the Latin root ingeniosus, meaning "skilled". An engineer is thus a clever, practical, problem solver. The spelling of engineer was later influenced by back-formation from engine. The term later evolved to include all fields where the skills of application of the scientific method are used. In some other languages, such as Arabic, the word for "engineering" also means "geometry".
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
At Michigan Tech, the engineers are called "Toots" by the local yoopers (indigenous to the U.P.), in reference to train drivers.
Of course they call the people from lower Michigan "Trolls" because they live below the bridge (Mackinac Bridge).
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
<hijack>
eric- 1037 is a good time. (from one tech grad to another.)
</hijack>
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
David
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
Engineer in french is said "ingénieur". According to wikipedia, "ingénieur" is from old-french word "engigneor" which means "builder of war machines". The origin of the english word is probably the same.
Source: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ing%C3%A9nieur
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
"Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets."
Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas
"All the world is a Spring"
All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
Civil Engineer - If it moves, it's broke.
Larry
RE: Origin of the word 'engineer'?
Regards, Wil Taylor