kindling

[kind-ling]

See more synonyms for kindling on Thesaurus.com

noun

material that can be readily ignited, used in starting a fire.
the act of one who kindles.

Origin of kindling

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at kindle¹, -ing¹

Related formsun·kin·dling, adjective

kindle

[kin-dl]

verb (used with object), kin·dled, kin·dling.

to start (a fire); cause (a flame, blaze, etc.) to begin burning.
to set fire to or ignite (fuel or any combustible matter).
to excite; stir up or set going; animate; rouse; inflame: He kindled their hopes of victory.
to light up, illuminate, or make bright: Happiness kindled her eyes.

verb (used without object), kin·dled, kin·dling.

to begin to burn, as combustible matter, a light, fire, or flame.
to become aroused or animated.
to become lighted up, bright, or glowing, as the sky at dawn or the eyes with ardor.

Origin of kindle

1150–1200; Middle English kindlen < Old Norse kynda; compare Old Norse kindill torch, candle

Related formskin·dler, noun

Synonyms for kindle

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1–3. fire, light. 3. arouse, awaken, bestir, incite, stimulate

Synonym study

1–3. Kindle, ignite, inflame literally mean to set something on fire. To kindle is to cause something gradually to begin burning; it is often used figuratively: to kindle logs; to kindle someone's interest. To ignite is to set something on fire with a sudden burst of flame; it too is often used figuratively: to ignite straw; to ignite dangerous hatreds. Inflame is most often used figuratively, meaning to intensify, excite, or rouse: to inflame passions.

kindle

[kin-dl]

verb (used with object), kin·dled, kin·dling.

(of animals, especially rabbits) to bear (young); produce (offspring).

verb (used without object), kin·dled, kin·dling.

(of animals, especially rabbits) to give birth, as to a litter.

noun

a litter of kittens, rabbits, etc.

Origin of kindle

1175–1225; Middle English kindelen, v. use of kindel offspring, young, equivalent to kind- (Old English gecynd offspring; see kind²) + -el -le

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for kindling

firewood, wood, tinder, lightwood, fatwood

Examples from the Web for kindling

Contemporary Examples of kindling

Hiller opens a barrel, lifts out wood particles and pieces of kindling, and lets them run through his fingers.
Brooklyn’s Booming Firewood Industry
Dale Eisinger
July 8, 2014
He is a slightly built New Englander, in tie and shirtsleeves, whose sense of humor is about as dry and incendiary as kindling.
Joe McQuaid: Union Leader Publisher Is GOP Kingmaker in New Hampshire
Lloyd Grove
December 19, 2011
His riff toward the end when he bragged about winning three times in a blue state just might have been the kindling.
How Santorum Would Destroy America
Michael Tomasky
October 19, 2011
The new health care ads are designed to jack up sentiments to the kindling point.
The Scariest Health Care Ads
Adam Hanft
August 15, 2009

Historical Examples of kindling

She was at the stove, where an armful of kindling had been set off to take the chill out of the house.
Dust
Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
He rushed for the kindling, picking out a swimming raisin as he ran.
The Widow O'Callaghan's Boys
Gulielma Zollinger
The kindling of the fire seems to have been for the purpose of annoying the enemy.
Y Gododin
Aneurin
I won't complain no more and I will split the kindling and everything.
Thankful's Inheritance
Joseph C. Lincoln
And see how the evening sun is kindling the white peaks to purple and gold.
The Great Hunger
Johan Bojer

British Dictionary definitions for kindling

kindling

noun

material for starting a fire, such as dry wood, straw, etc

kindle

verb

to set alight or start to burn
to arouse or be arousedthe project kindled his interest
to make or become bright

Derived Formskindler, noun

Word Origin for kindle

C12: from Old Norse kynda, influenced by Old Norse kyndill candle

Kindle

noun

trademark a portable electronic device for downloading and reading books

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for kindling

"material for lighting fire," 1510s, from present participle of kindle (v.). Earlier "a setting alight" (c.1300).

kindle

c.1200, cundel, "to set fire to, to start on fire," probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse kynda "to kindle, to light a fire," Swedish quindla "kindle," of uncertain origin, + frequentative suffix -le. Figurative use from c.1300. Intransitive sense "to begin to burn, to catch fire" is from c.1400. Related: Kindled; kindling.

Influenced in form, and sometimes in Middle English in sense, with kindel "to give birth" (of animals), "bring forth, produce" (c.1200), from kindel (n.) "offspring of an animal, young one," from Old English gecynd (see kind (n.)) + -el.