different between ignition vs kindling

English

Etymology

From French ignition

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?gn?'sh?n, IPA^(key): /???n???n/
• Rhymes: -???n

Noun

ignition (countable and uncountable, plural ignitions)

1. The act of igniting.
2. The initiation of combustion.
3. (automotive, mechanical engineering) A system for activating combustion in a combustion engine.
4. (automotive) Receptacle for a key used to start the engine in a vehicle.
5. (physics) The phenomenon of a thermonuclear fusion reaction becoming self-sustaining and no longer requiring external heating.

Derived terms

Translations

English

Etymology

kindle +? -ing

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k?ndl??/

Noun

kindling (countable and uncountable, plural kindlings)

1. Small pieces of wood and twigs used to start a fire.

   • When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped?; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs kneeling on the hearth and heaping kindling on the coals, and her pretty little Alsatian maid beside her, laying a log across the andirons.

2. The act by which something is kindled.
   • December 14, 1784, Hester Rogers, letter to the Rev. Mr. Fletcher

     The kindlings of love which had been felt before, now became a flame in every believing soul; and when fallen on our knees, the power of God descended of a truth […]

Usage notes

Kindling refers to the second stage of building a fire: tinder is used to light kindling, which then lights the main fire.

Coordinate terms

• tinder

Translations

Verb

kindling

1. present participle of kindle

   Despite the damp wood, he had no trouble kindling a fire.