Etymology

tinder

tin·der
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Today it means: Small dry sticks and finely-divided fibrous matter etc., used to help light a fire. Full definition →

Middle English tinder ← Old English tynder ← Proto-Germanic *tundrą
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tinder · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*tundrą
  2. Old English · inherited fromtynder
  3. Middle English · inherited fromtinder
  4. English todaytinder

From Middle English tinder, tunder, tender, tonder, from Old English tynder, from Proto-Germanic *tundrą, *tundrǭ (“tinder”). Compare Saterland Frisian Tunder (“tinder”), Dutch tonder (“tinder”), German Zunder (“tinder”), Swedish tända (“to light, to set on fire”). More at tind.

Tinder · proper noun, verb2

The application's name is likely derived from the verb tinder (“to set fire to, to torch”), and a play on the various meanings of match (the prototype was called MatchBox).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.