Meanings
- dateduncountableamadou
The inflammation of German tinder in the so-called pneumatic tinder-boxes; which are, as we know, little pump-chambers in which the air is rapidly compressed.
1897, Sadi Carnot (original), R. H. Thurston (translator), Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat, Appendix B1 more example
When lucifers were struck they only fizzed and sputtered, would not burn. German tinder succeeded better; for the exhausted atmosphere, hungering for oxygen, uniting with the atoms of saltpetre in the process of ignition, the tinder, instead of its usual dull glow, threw out a long bright flame, made as it were of electric sparks.
1862 August 23, Mrs. H. Stanley, “The trials of an inventor”, in Once a Week
Synonyms & antonyms
Cite this entry
German tinder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20tinder
“German tinder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20tinder. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “German tinder,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20tinder.
Source: German tinder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.