tinder
UK /ˈtɪn.dəː/ · US /ˈtɪn.dɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms tinders tindering tindered
- noun Small dry sticks and finely-divided fibrous matter etc., used to help light a fire.
- verb (transitive) To set fire to; torch.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun An online dating and geosocial networking application, launched in 2012, in which users "swipe right" to like or "swipe left" to dislike other users' profiles.
- verb (social media, intransitive) To use the dating application Tinder.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English tinder, tunder, tender, tonder, from Old English tynder, from Proto-Germanic *tundrą, *tundrǭ (“tinder”). Compare Saterland Frisian Tunder (“tinder”), Dutch tonder (“tinder”), German Zunder (“tinder”), Swedish tända (“to light, to set on fire”). More at tind.
The application's name is likely derived from the verb tinder (“to set fire to, to torch”), and a play on the various meanings of match (the prototype was called MatchBox).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Something very inflammable, used for kindling fire from a spark, as scorched linen. German tinder. Same as Amadou.
Etymology [OE. tinder, tunder, AS. tynder, tyndre; akin to tendan to kindle, D. tonder tinder, G. zunder, OHG. zuntara, zuntra, Icel. tundr, Sw. tunder, Dan. tönder. See Tind.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tinder”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details