Words evolve because semantics is a big part of our language. The “old” definition was that an engine produced it’s own power from a fuel source. A motor operated on electrical energy (AC or DC). Times have changed and semantics has made the word motor synonimous with the word engine. I have no problem with that. My Hostess cupcakes are back on the shelf and I’m a happy camper.
Not to derail the thread here, but what are you folks talking about when you say stripes on a manhole cover? I can’t say I’ve ever seen a striped or painted cover, they’re all just iron. And which way would or should the stripes go? Why would there be stripes?
One version of the “stripes on a manhole cover” means it’s not really important. The yellow or white stripe painted on the roadway sometimes goes across the manhole cover. When the manhole cover is removed…that stripe will never line up exactly again when it’s replaced and it really doesn’t matter if it does or not.
engine: a machine for converting any of various forms of energy into mechanical force and motion; also : a mechanism or object that serves as an energy source
motor:
one that imparts motion; specifically : prime mover 2
: any of various power units that develop energy or impart motion: as
a : a small compact engine
b : internal combustion engine; especially : a gasoline engine
Basically they are the same thing.
both from Merriam Webster
If its a friendly disagreement then keep on bickering, no harm done. If this is a heated argument then keep in mind ( I will say this delicately) WHO REALLY GIVES A RATS REAR END?
Well, if the definition of “motor” has changed over time to include I/C engines, it must have changed around the turn of the (20th) century at the absolute latest, to account for all the terms encompassing the word in the popular lexicon. (I mean, an “enginist”? really??)
I still think the word has a narrow definition within engineering jargon, and a broader one in common english. Kind of like the reccomendation to use a “basic bleach solution” to get mildew off paint. Do you mean “simple” or “alkaline?”
Even General MOTORS calls it an ENGINE management system. Sounds like they know the difference, just can’t shake the founders naming rights.
@asemaster Missleman is correct. Our city engineer has some kind of a thing for painting lines on residential streets. So one of the through streets is now striped with a double yellow line for three miles where we never had or needed any before. The double yellow lines not only were painted on the pavement, but across the manhole covers. What I noticed a couple days ago is that every single personhole cover in the three miles had now been turned going east and west instead of north and south.
I’m kind of tongue in cheek but not only does the stripe look stupid and unnecessary, but now every block is a manhole cover with the stripes at right angle to the rest of the striping. It really looks stupid, but this isn’t the first time for this particular engineer.
So what about fire engines? Why are they called that? Sounds better than fire motors I guess.
I suppose a motor is what makes the fire engine go… unless they’re fire engine engines…
Is the fuel burned by engines (or motors) flammable or inflammable?
Speaking of BMWs, are they “beamers” or “bimmers”? (actually my understanding is that the bimmers are the motorcycles and beamers are the cars…)
I’ll get my coat…
I think we should try and fight some of these trends anyway.
If we did we’d all be saying “thus” and “thou”. Language is ever evolving…has been since humans started using language.
Doesn't anyone else have a problem with manhole or personhole covers being put back on with the stripe going the wrong way?
NO…absolutely not. Is it sloppy work…sure…so what…It doesn’t effect anything I do or anything else that’s important. I don’t give it a second thought.
When you say gasoline motor, technically that's incorrect.
No…it’s technically correct…The meaning has changed…thus making it correct. So you still call your accountant a computer.
Speaking of computer, why is the equipment used to perform welding called a welder and the person doing the work is a weldor. Shouldn’t the person working the computer then be a computor?
If it’s Kansas, shouldn’t it be Ar-Kansas?
What about good and food?
I’m not looking forward to explaining these things to my son… 
Which brings us to. Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
Or what’s the difference between a donkey and a jackass…
" I think we should try and fight some of these trends anyway.
If we did we’d all be saying “thus” and “thou”. Language is ever evolving…has been since humans started using language. "
I beseech thee, consider, thou mayest be wrong. IMHO, OMG, LOL
fiddle -vs- violin ?
Since we’re nitpicking, the word ENGINE is often applied to something more complex than just the prime mover. For instance, fire engine, and cotton “ginnie”, a distortion of engine. Motor is always applied to a single item providing power.
Cotton “ginnie”??? Its a Cotton Gin and it has nothing to do with engine. You ain’t from around here is you?
Before digital electronic, analog, or mechanical computers, the people that did computations were known as computers…
@keith - from the Cotton Gin Museum web site:
"Why do they call it a cotton “gin”?
Eli Whitney’s invention in 1793 that removed the seed from the cotton fiber was called the “Little Cotton Engine”…. this name was quickly dubbed cotton “gin” – short for engine. After the Civil War – and the end of the cotton plantations – community gins began to spring up all over the country. The name “gin” became a household word. Ginning simply means separating or removing the seed from the fiber. "
As long as we’re well off topic, the cotton market was declining and the need for slaves was declining. The gin changed all that and insured that slavery continued another 70 years until the northern aggression. At least that’s what we’ve been told in the north.
@keith I was really referring to Richard Arkwright’s "spinning jenny’ that revolutionized the textile industry in England. The machine was formally called a spinning engine that spun cloth. Thanks to cheap cotton from the US the British textile industry drove the industrial revolution there. But without James Watt’s steam ENGINE, not much of this would have happened, since water and wind power could only provide a small share of the energy needed to power the industrial revolution.