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MUSCOVITE Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

kindler

Hi,

(1) When is the word "kindler" normally used in modern English?...as a synonym of "arsonist"? or when you refer to someone who 'arouses'/'incites' other peoples?

(2) I understand the words 'arsonist', 'incendiary', 'kindler' have the same meaning (="sb who sets sth on fire on purpose").
Which of them is LEAST FORMAL?

(3) Looks like 'kindler' is out of date/rarely used? (None of the online dictionaries I have checked marks it as "obsolete' though)

mus-te
  

Top answer

Sometimes writers try to use more than one word for the same thing when they are writing a long article about it. Instead of saying "arsonist" every time, they put in more unusual words such a "incendiary" and even "kindler" just to avoid monotony. Sometimes this practice results in changing spoken language as well, as in the case of the word "tsunami" entering standard English after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

— Elanguest

  • Sometimes writers try to use more than one word for the same thing when they are writing a long article about it.
  • Instead of saying "arsonist" every time, they put in more unusual words such a "incendiary" and even "kindler" just to avoid monotony.
  • Sometimes this practice results in changing spoken language as well, as in the case of the word "tsunami" entering standard English after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
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13 Answers
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Sometimes writers try to use more than one word for the same thing when they are writing a long article about it. Instead of saying "arsonist" every time, they put in more unusual words such a "incendiary" and even "kindler" just to avoid monotony. Sometimes this practice results in changing spoken language as well, as in the case of the word "tsunami" entering standard English after the 2004 Indi
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(1) Never.
(2) The only one of these three that I have ever encountered in modern English is "arsonist", so there's no saying which one is least formal.
(3) Yes, "kindler" is archaic. Dictionaries are very conservative documents and are loathe to call words obsolete before they've been out of use for so long that anyone who remembered when they were commonly used is dead.

@Elangue
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Please provide a link to a dictionary that lists "kindler" as "arsonist". The Shorter Oxford shows it only as the noun form of "kindle", and Webster's 1828/1913 gives it an entry but only defines it as you would expect for the noun and nothing to do with arson, per se.

"Kindler" does not mean "arsonist" now, whatever the case before, and I would call it rare in any use. I would exp
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ElanguestOr news writing.
Dig it.

P.S. - The Shorter Oxford says "tsunami" dates from the late 19th century in English. I learned it in grade school way back in the 19mumbleties.
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Oh, sorry about that. I only remember hearing the word tsunami in the 2000s. When I was a kid, we called them tidal waves. Emotion: smile
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enoonPlease provide a link to a dictionary that lists "kindler" as "arsonist"
Please see http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=kindler&use1913=on.
What was true a century ago does not make sense today?
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Let me also ask here (within this thread) another "kindle"-related question.

We are all familiar with e-book readers of course... How do you native speakers interpret the product name "Amazon Kindle"? What part of speech is "kindle" in this name? This word really puzzles me...

mus-te
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It's just a name. ie a proper noun.
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MUSCOVITEenoonPlease provide a link to a dictionary that lists "kindler" as "arsonist"Please see http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=kindler&use1913=on .What was true a century ago does not make sense today? Or perhaps I just misinterpr
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