2022-03-26
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน - Set – F - flammable & inflammable
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Dictionary.com:
ออกเสียง flammable = “FLAM-uh-buhl”
ออกเสียง inflammable = “in-FLAM-uh-buhl”
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions:
flammable & inflammable
These words mean the same thing and are interchangeable.
They are not contrasted, as are,
for example, capable and incapable, mature, and immature.
Although both words are correct,
flammable is more often used by scientists and in technical pursuit,
whereas inflammable is more common outside manufacturing context.
In referring to someone’s temperament or behavior,
inflammable seems more appropriate than flammable \
(his inflammable disposition).
Possibly someday everyone will settle on flammable.
Common Errors in English Usage Dictionary:
flammable & inflammable
The prefix “in-” does not indicate negation here;
it comes from the word "inflame.”
“Flammable” and
“inflammable”
both mean “easy to catch on fire”;
but so many people misunderstand the latter term
that it’s better to stick with “flammable” in safety warnings.
Dictionary.com:
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH INFLAMMABLE
Inflammable and flammable both mean “combustible.”
Inflammable is the older by about 200 years.
Flammable now has certain technical uses,
particularly as a warning on vehicles carrying combustible materials,
because of a belief that some
might interpret the intensive prefix in- of inflammable
as a negative prefix and thus think the word means “noncombustible.”
Inflammable is the word more usually used in nontechnical
and figurative contexts:
The speaker ignited the inflammable emotions of the crowd.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Words at Play
Flammable vs. Inflammable
Both words mean the same thing,
but one of them is bound to confuse most people.
What to Know
Inflammable and flammable are synonyms
and mean "able to burn" even though they look like opposites.
In this case,
rather than the prefix in- meaning "not," as it often does,
"inflammable" comes from the latin verb inflammare,
which means "to cause to catch fire."
"Flammable" was coined later from a translation of the
latin verb flammare ("to catch fire"),
which inflammare is related to.
"When cooking over a gas stove, avoid wearing loose,
(flammable/inflammable) clothing that could catch fire easily."
Which word is correct: flammable or inflammable?
Trick question: both flammable and inflammable are correct,
as they both mean
"capable of being easily ignited and of burningquickly."
This makes no sense to the Modern English speaker.
In English, we think of in- as a prefix that means "not":
inactive means "not active,"
inconclusive means "not conclusive,"
inconsiderate means "not considerate."
Therefore, inflammable should mean "not flammable."
The Latin Inflammare
That would make sense
—if inflammable had started out as an English word.
We get inflammable from the Latin verb inflammare,
which combines flammare ("to catch fire") with a Latin prefix in-,
which means "to cause to."
This in- shows up occasionally in English words,
though we only tend to notice it
when the in- word is placed next to its root word for comparison:
impassive and passive,
irradiated and radiated,
inflame and flame.
Inflammable came into English in the early 1600s.
Things were fine until 1813, when a scholar translating a Latin text
coined the English word flammable from the Latin flammare,
and now we had a problem:
two words that look like antonyms but are actually synonyms.
There has been confusion between the two words ever since.
The True Opposite of Inflammable
What do you do?
To avoid confusion, choose flammable
when you are referring to something that catches fire and burns easily,
and use the relatively recent nonflammable
when referring to something that doesn't catch fire and burn easily.
Our files indicate that
use of flammable and nonflammable has
increased in print over the last few decades,
while use of inflammable has decreased.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Word History
'Inflame': Fired with Anger
Why doesn't it mean "to set on fire"?
What to Know
Inflame typically means "to make angry" or "to excite"
and has rarely been used in the literal sense as "to set on fire."
While some words gain metaphoric meaning over time,
this is an example of a word losing its literal meaning early on.
It’s easy to get the impression that changes in language
most often come in the form of newly added meanings to words (cookie and mouse come to mind),
but the reverse also happens:
meanings can also fall away, something that is surely harder to notice.
Case in point: inflame.
It all starts with fire (at least, etymologically and metaphorically speaking).
The word inflame and its derivatives like inflammation,
inflammatory, and inflammable have word roots that are clear,
and “in flames,” of course, means “on fire.”
Usage of 'Inflame'
But we don’t use inflame to mean “to set on fire” very often,
and if we do encounter it, it seems distinctly archaic.
It came to English from the French verb enflamer,
and enflame remains a variant spelling.
In fact,
inflame has always been more commonly used in figurative ways
than in its literal meaning.
Early use of the word clearly means “to make angry” or “to enrage”:
'Inflammation' and 'Inflammatory'
Today, when we encounter the word inflammation,
we think of physical discomfort or pain
—a medical symptom.
Inflammatory is a more recent addition to English,
created by using the Latin scientific vocabulary
rather coming than from a French word.
As such, it has always had a more technical quality.
Early use from the 17th century shows consistency
with its current meanings:
“lascivious and inflammatory books”; “inflammatory diseases.”
Inflammable came from French, but dates from around 1600,
much later than inflame.
The original Latin-derived French in- means “in” or “with,”
but it’s easily confused with the other prefix in- meaning “not” (like un- or non-),
which explains why inflammable is
sometimes confusingly used to mean “not flammable”
instead of the more historical and correct “flammable.”
This confusion exhibits one of the problems with language change:
it can seem to make the meaning of a word seem to go up in flames.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree:
flammable
= combustible (technical use, on a warning sign:
caution! flammable)
Not to be confused with:
inflammable
= combustible (figuratively: inflammable emotions)
nonflammable
= not combustible or easily set on fire
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language:
flam′ma·bil′i·ty n.
flam′ma·ble n.
Usage Note:
Inflammable means "combustible,"
and has the same meaning as the word flammable.
How is this possible?
The prefix in- here is not the Latin negative prefix in-
(which is related to the English un- and appears in words
such as indecent and inglorious)
but is derived from the Latin preposition in, "in."
This prefix also appears in the word inflame.
However, some people mistakenly think that
inflammable means "not flammable."
Therefore, for clarity's sake,
it is safest to avoid inflammable altogether
and use flammable instead.
Collins English Dictionary:
flammaˈbility n
Usage:
Flammable and inflammable are interchangeable
when used of the properties of materials.
Flammable is, however, often preferred for warning labels
as there is less likelihood of misunderstanding
(inflammable being sometimes taken to mean not flammable).
Inflammable is preferred in figurative contexts:
this could prove to be an inflammable situation
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary:
in•flam`ma•bil′i•ty, in•flam′ma•ble•ness,
in•flam′ma•bly, adv.
usage: inflammable and flammable both mean “combustible.”
inflammable is the older by about 200 years.
flammable now has certain technical uses,
particularly as a warning on vehicles carrying combustible materials,
because of a belief that some might interpret
the intensive prefix in- of inflammable as a negative prefix
and thus think the word means “noncombustible.”
inflammable is the word
more usu. used in nontechnical and figurative contexts:
inflammable clothing; an inflammable temper.
Collins COBUID English Dictionary:
Flammable & inflammable
Both flammable and inflammable are used to describe
materials or chemicals that burn easily.
A window had been smashed and flammable liquid poured in.
...commercial centres, holding large stocks of inflammable materials.
Be Careful!
Inflammable is not the opposite of flammable.
The opposite is non-flammable.
The fuel is recyclable, clean and non-flammable.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Why Inflammable Is Not the Opposite of Flammable
Combustible and incombustible are opposites but flammable and
inflammable are synonyms. Why?
The in- of incombustible isa common prefix meaning "not," but the in- of inflammable is a different prefix.
Inflammable comes from Latin inflammare ("to inflame"),
itself from in- (here meaning "in" or "into") plus flammare ("to flame").
Flammable also comes from flammare.
In the early 20th century,
firefighters worried that people might think
inflammable meant "not able to catch fire,"
so they adopted flammable and nonflammable as official safety labels
and encouraged their use to prevent confusion.
In general use,
flammable is now the preferred term for
describing things that can catch fire,
but inflammable is still occasionally used with that meaning as well.
