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Is tinder a real word? I thought it was just a made up word for an app? I can't be expected to explain such words in another language when I can't explain them

by rsmsky1 10y ago

Is tinder a real word? I thought it was just a made up word for an app? I can't be expected to explain such words in another language when I can't explain them in my native language. But I think if you said spark instead that would be more reasonable such you need to rub two pieces of wood together and create a spark and then a fire starts.

Mikeb85 10y ago
Yes tinder is a real word. It's material used to kindle a fire. Silicon valley has ruined all these words. Then again, most people don't have to start fires.
- adrianratnapala 10y ago
  Well the way I learned it, you kindle fires by igniting the kindling. The kindling then ignites tinder (an intermediate stage), which then ignites the real fuel. But I also often hear the two-step usage where tinder is includes kindling.
  - Mikeb85 10y ago
    Kindling is actually a verb, as in, the act of 'kindling' a fire, even though it's also used to describe the material used to kindle a fire. Tinder is just the material.
    - CDRdude 10y ago
      There are two definitions, the verb and the noun.
      - Mikeb85 10y ago
        Now there are. -ing words typically started as verbs. Eating, sleeping, etc... This is why English is a clusterfuck, and makes no sense compared to most languages. Imagine if we called food 'eatings', that'd be weird, eh?
        adrianratnapala 10y ago
        We can complain about English in all sorts of ways, but the fact that gerunds are distinct from infinitives is not exactly a problem. http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/part_1.htm http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/part_1.htm Perhaps you are complaining that gerunds (which are already nouns) can grow extra meanings over time. But all languages do this kind of stuff. German has exactly the "problem" you are talking about, only worse. Depending on capitalisation, "Essen/essen" can be the noun "food" or the the verb "to eat", But when used as verb, it is usally used in the sense of the English gerund "eating".
  - telotortium 10y ago
    To me it's just the opposite. It's why the concept of a tinderbox makes sense (it contains grass or paper or something else easily ignited by a spark or small fire).
laichzeit0 10y ago
The icon for Tinder is literally a flame :)

by rsmsky1 10y ago

Mikeb85 10y ago

Yes tinder is a real word. It's material used to kindle a fire. Silicon valley has ruined all these words. Then again, most people don't have to start fires.

adrianratnapala 10y ago
Well the way I learned it, you kindle fires by igniting the kindling. The kindling then ignites tinder (an intermediate stage), which then ignites the real fuel. But I also often hear the two-step usage where tinder is includes kindling.
- Mikeb85 10y ago
  Kindling is actually a verb, as in, the act of 'kindling' a fire, even though it's also used to describe the material used to kindle a fire. Tinder is just the material.
  - CDRdude 10y ago
    There are two definitions, the verb and the noun.
    - Mikeb85 10y ago
      Now there are. -ing words typically started as verbs. Eating, sleeping, etc... This is why English is a clusterfuck, and makes no sense compared to most languages. Imagine if we called food 'eatings', that'd be weird, eh?
      - adrianratnapala 10y ago
        We can complain about English in all sorts of ways, but the fact that gerunds are distinct from infinitives is not exactly a problem. http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/part_1.htm http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/part_1.htm Perhaps you are complaining that gerunds (which are already nouns) can grow extra meanings over time. But all languages do this kind of stuff. German has exactly the "problem" you are talking about, only worse. Depending on capitalisation, "Essen/essen" can be the noun "food" or the the verb "to eat", But when used as verb, it is usally used in the sense of the English gerund "eating".
- telotortium 10y ago
  To me it's just the opposite. It's why the concept of a tinderbox makes sense (it contains grass or paper or something else easily ignited by a spark or small fire).

laichzeit0 10y ago

The icon for Tinder is literally a flame :)