From names to wordsScience, ideas & the arts

diesel

Rudolf Diesel patented a compression-ignition engine in the 1890s. His surname became the name of the engine, then of its fuel, and then of the trucks, ships and trains that burn it — in languages from Russian and Turkish to Hindi, Swahili and Japanese.

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

From German to Russian

From German to French, Turkish

From German to Spanish

From German to Italian

From German to Japanese

From English to Hindi

From English to Swahili

From English to Korean

From English to Modern Hebrew

From English to Arabic

1892German

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

The road to English

Export “diesel”

Embed “diesel”

Save “diesel”

Export “diesel”

Embed “diesel”

Save “diesel”