One of my all-time favorite Simpsons moments is when the quack doctor, Dr. Nick Rivera, insists when a flaming ring lands on a tank of laughing gas (I think it is…), “Don’t worry. It’s inflammable.” and is promptly exploded. To which he replies, “Inflammable means flammable? What a country.”
I tend to agree. 😉 This is one of those weirdo things that I know but never really got. (And anyone who read last week’s post on ‘reckless’ knew I was going to do this one this week, didn’t you? LOL.) What gets me is that both are perfectly cromulent (to steal another Simpsonsism…)–a.k.a valid for those of you who have never watched the show. 😉 Either is acceptable. Both have entries in the dictionary.
Inflammable is definitely the earlier of the two words, from the Latin inflammare, which means “to set on fire” but often in a figurative sense–to inflame one’s passion, to inflame a crowd with anger. But it’s been around in English since the 15the century, in both that sense, in the sense of a medical inflammation, and taking on the literal sense on fire around 1600.
Flammable is said to be taken directly from the Latin flammare, which is ONLY the literal “set on fire.” Literally flame + able. And some experts think it has come into use solely to eliminate confusion in commercial situations that involve things that go boom. 😉
So in this day and age, if you see a container marked with that oh-so-lovely image, it’s more likely to have “flammable” written on it than “inflammable.” (Just for you, Dr. Nick!) But when it comes to igniting the inflammable emotions of a mob, that ‘in’ is always going to be there. 😉
Hope everybody has a great week!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
Hi, everybody!
Hi, Dr. Nick!
Haha. I read last week's post but forgot that this was the word you were using! Fun post!
I hope you were able to accomplish a lot this past week. Hopefully you will be able to get even more writing/editing done this week.
Two different roots, eh? Shoulda known 😉