RE: Motors?

[bearbvd@domain.elided (Greg Hermann)]

>*********************
>In #975, Jean Denis said:
>
>"...on naked engines (please, "motors" are Electric!)"
>***********************
>Will Owen said:
>"Okay, let's whip that dead horse one more time: an
>ENGINE is any sort of mechanical device. A MOTOR is
>any ENGINE that creates motion. Over the last hundred
>years or so, it has become common to refer to internal
>or external combustion motors as "engines," and to
>reserve "motor" for the electrical variety, but that
>is still merely convention: not incorrect, but not
>uniquely correct either."
>*****************************
>just to add more, we poor folks that learned English as a 2nd language
>continue the habit of translating *literally* at least from Spanish and
>Italian, since a car engine is called *motor* or *motore*.  So its easy to
>call it *motor* in English, at least for us.  Kind of reminds me of the
>Alfista-Alfisto problem.  Oh, please, not again!


Just to muddy the water further--I have heard, upon occasion, a version
that goes like this: that a motor will start itself, as with an electric
motor, but that if you need an auxiliary starting device, as with a gas
turbine or piston type IC engine, it is an engine. But--this was first
heard from an older fellow, long since departed, and I have to kind of
wonder where a STEAM _ENGINE_ fits into that picture---

Regards, Greg

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