cinder
/ˈsɪndɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.96 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Partially or mostly burnt material that results from incomplete combustion of coal or wood etc.; it often rides the rising smoke column into the air, and it can pose a fire hazard when it lands, in dry conditions.
noun
An ember.
name
A female given name.
Example Sentences
- "Travellers over the London & North Western main line in bygone days will need no reminder of the pattering of cinders on the carriage roofs, the fountains of sparks from the chimneys at night and the distance from which the exhaust of approaching locomotives could be heard, due to the fierceness of their blast in such conditions."
- "If from adown the hopeful chops The fat upon the cinder drops, To stinking smoke it turns the flame, Poisoning the flesh from whence it came"
- "Oh, horrid proposition! One would imagine, Tom, that you had been a coal-heaver. Had you said soda and cinder, I would have seconded the motion."
- "She'd sit by the fire, arms crossed, demanding that Ruby spike her tea with a cinder. But Ruby would never give in to her demands, no matter how much her mam begged. There was no alcohol in the house now; Arthur had made sure of that in an effort to get Mary sober."
- "We plan to cinder this path."
Etymology
From Middle English cyndyr, syndir, synder, sinder, from Old English sinder (“cinder, dross, slag, scoria, dross of iron, impurity of metal”), from Proto-West Germanic *sindr, from Proto-Germanic *sindrą, *sindraz (“dross, cinder, slag”), from Proto-Indo-European *sendʰro- (“coagulating fluid, liquid slag, scale, cinder”). Cognate with Scots sinder (“ember, cinder”), West Frisian sindel, sintel (“cinder, slag”), Dutch sintel (“cinder, ember, slag”), Middle Low German sinder, sinter (“cinder, slag”), German Sinter (“dross of iron, scale”), Danish sinder (“spark of ignited iron, cinder”), Swedish sinder (“slag or dross from a forge”), Icelandic sindur (“scoring”), Old Church Slavonic сѧдра (sędra, “lime cinder, gypsum”). Spelling (c- for s-) influenced by unrelated French cendre (“ashes”). Doublet of sinter.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: cyndyr, sinder, *sindr, *sindrą, *sendʰro-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɪndɚ/
- British English: /ˈsɪndəː/
Usage
Inflected Forms
cinders (plural)
sinder (alternative, obsolete)
cinders (present, singular)
cindering (participle, present)
cindered (participle, past)
cindered (past)
Derived Forms
Phrases
brittle cinder
cinder block
cinder cone
cinder dick
cinder frame
cinder notch
cinder tea
cinder toffee