extinguisher
UK[ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃə(r)]US[ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃər]
n
A portable metal container from which water or chemicals are forced by pressure to put out a small fire.
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
tingu
ish
er
ex
tingu
ish
er
Etymology
The word 'extinguisher' is built upon the Latin verb extinguere, meaning "to quench, put out, or destroy." This Latin verb itself is a compound of the intensive prefix ex- ("out, thoroughly") and stinguere ("to quench"). The core concept of quenching or damping a flame passed directly into English with the verb 'extinguish.' The agent suffix '-er' was then added in English to form the noun, logically denoting a device that performs the action of extinguishing. Thus, the term's journey from the literal Latin act of putting out a fire to the modern concrete noun for a firefighting tool is direct and transparent.
Analysis
Structure: ex + tingu + ish + er
- ex (Latin): A prefix meaning "out, thoroughly."
- tingu (Latin): A root from the verb stinguere, meaning "to quench, to extinguish."
- ish (English): A verb-forming suffix.
- er (English): An agent noun suffix meaning "a person or thing that does something."
Examples
He grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall and aimed it at the base of the flames.
All commercial kitchens are required to have a working fire extinguisher.
The new model is a carbon dioxide extinguisher, suitable for electrical fires.