"Engineers" were originally just eccentric noblemen who liked to tinker around with engines. Kind of an awesome hobby if you think about it, combining clockwork

"Engineers" were originally just eccentric noblemen who liked to tinker around with engines. Kind of an awesome hobby if you think about it, combining clockwork and fire in a cool way. Hence the "eer" suffix implying that they are just really into engines, like a "Mouseketeer" is someone who is really into Mickey Mouse. It didn't acquire its self-righteously gatekept meaning implying having passed some kind of technical examination to be allowed to draft plans for roads until much later.