Damicci said:
According to dictionary they mean the same thing. But inflameable is an older term. flammable is just commonly used now. Both meaning substance the can burned or set on fire.
But onthe contrary inflammable can also be used ased a synonym for excited.
"He is easily inflammable/excited."
Thanks for the research, Damici! Now I now you're also into words!
Damicci said:
But many people are not aware of this derivation, and for clarity's sake it is advisable to use only flammable to give warnings.
Heehee..That's a interesting interpretation, but it makes sense for safety's sake. You don't want any misunderstanding there for sure. I'm just curious if this is another case of chicken and egg, or whether there was an actual misunderstanding that can be traced back. Was it someone's mistaken hypercorrection of inflammable-->flammable or did someone knowingly make the spelling adjustment for public safety ?
Damicci said:
Rather, this -in is an intensive prefix derived from the Latin preposition in. This prefix also appears in the word enflame.
In addition to giving emphasis to verbs, this en- in- im- prefixes also have the interesting property of turning adjectives or nouns into verbs, I noticed, with the meaning of "make+(object)+adjective," "make+(object)+like+a+noun," often used together with the Latin verb ending -ate.
1) verb->verb: endure, incinerate, incise, implore, intend,
2) adjective->verb: inflict, intense, impale, enrich, impoverish
3) noun->verb: indicate, induct, induce, inflame, impersonate, insinuate, inundate, endanger, engender, engulf, endorse, ensure, entangle, entrench, embark
The -en -on suffix has similar usage, but that probably comes from the Germanic adjective maker also present in the past participle endings of strong verbs.
1) verb->verb/adjective: reckon / smitten, striken, taken, trodden, rotten, ridden
2) adjective->verb/adjective: darken, deepen, madden, redden, sadden, whiten /sunken, drunken
3) noun->verb/adjective: beckon, lengthen, shorten, strengthen, lighten, enlighten (prefix & suffix) / ashen, earthen, golden, porcelain, silken, wooden, linen