“Engineer”: Origins of the Word
We hear the word “engineer” often in our everyday lives, but where does the word come from?
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word dates back to the year 1325 in the form of the Old French word engigneor, which means “constructor of military engines.” Let’s take a moment to think about history. Back in those days, people designed and built tools largely for military purposes and bringing them closer to oft-dreamed-of world domination. From projectile-slinging trebuchets to durable ships for exploring the unknown, these were all objects designed by humans aimed at reaching a specific goal in mind. Today’s engineers more or less perform the same kind of work: given a set of criteria and constraints, design something. Ingenuity is a plus (notice how “ingenuity” and “engineer” sound vaguely similar?). The etymology also states that the association with “inventor” and “designer” dates back to around 1420.
Engines have been an icon of engineering, especially mechanical engineering.
Also from the Online Etymology Dictionary, “engineer” has roots in the Late Latin word ingeniare, which has to do with engines. Generally speaking, engines are mechanisms that produce some form of output given some form of input. A commonly -known input/output pair for engines is energy and mechanical power, which can be used to drive vehicles such as cars and trains. Engines happen to be a longtime icon of mechanical engineering, a discipline of engineering that is arguably the oldest, even though in recent times mechanical engineering is crossing paths with other engineering disciplines such as electrical, chemical, and material engineering.
See? The word “engineer” has an etymology that consists of elements which people today consider to be part of engineering, even though there are some seemingly random meanings such as “locomotive driver.”
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