engineer

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English engineour, from Old French engigneor, from Medieval Latin ingeniarius, from ingenium (“an engine”), from in (“in”) + gignere (“to beget, produce”), Old Latin genere; see ingenious; or from engine +‎ -eer.

Pronunciation

• (GenAm) IPA: /ˌendʒɪˈnɪr/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (RP) IPA: /ˌendʒɪˈnɪə/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪə(r)
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

engineer (plural engineers)

1. A person who is qualified or professionally engaged in any branch of engineering.
2. A person trained in a natural science that applies such knowledge towards a practical objective.
3. A person who, given a practical scientific problem involving the physical world and a specific set of goals and constraints, finds a technical solution to the problem that satisfies those goals within those constraints. The goals and constraints may be technical, social, or business related.
4. A person who operates an engine (such as a locomotive).

Usage notes

• Adjectives often applied to "engineer": mechanical, electrical, civil, environmental, mechatronics, industrial, optical, nuclear, structural, chemical, military, electronic, professional, chartered, licensed, certified, qualified.

Related terms

• engine
• ingenious
• ingeniosity
• genius

Translations

Person qualified or professionally engaged in engineering

• Arabic: مهندس (ar) (muhándis) m, مهندسة (ar) (muhandísa) f
• Bulgarian: инженер (bg) (inženér) m
• Catalan: enginyer (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 工程师 (cmn), 工程師 (cmn) (gōngchéngshī), 技師 (cmn), 技师 (cmn) (jìshī)

  Min Nan: 技師 (nan) (ki-su)

• Czech: inženýr (cs) m
• Danish: ingeniør (da)
• Dutch: ingenieur (nl) m and f
• Esperanto: inĝeniero (eo)
• Faroese: verkfrøðingur (fo) m
• Finnish: insinööri (fi)
• French: ingénieur (fr) m and f
• Galician: enxeñeiro (gl) m
• German: Ingenieur (de) m, Ingenieurin (de) f
• Greek: μηχανικός (el) (michanikós) m and f, μηχανολόγος (el) (michanológos) m and f
• Hebrew: מהנדס (he) (m'handés) m
• Hungarian: mérnök (hu)
• Irish: innealtóir (ga) m
• Italian: ingegnere (it) m
• Japanese: 技師 (ja) (ぎし, gishi), 技術者 (ja) (ぎじゅつしゃ, gijutsusha), エンジニア (ja) (enjinia)
• Jèrriais: înginnieux m
• Khmer: វិស្វករ (km) (vi’sva’kɑɑ)
• Korean: 공학자 (ko) (gonghakja)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: ئه‌ندازیار

• Ladino: injeniero
• Lao: ນາຍຊ່າງ (lo)

• Luxembourgish: Ingenieur (lb) m, Ingenieurin (lb) f
• Malay: jurutera (ms)
• Manx: jeshaghteyr (gv) m
• Marathi: इंजिनियर (mr) (iṃjiniyara)
• Norwegian: ingeniør (no) m
• Persian: مهندس (fa) (mohandes)
• Polish: inżynier (pl) m
• Portuguese: engenheiro (pt) m
• Romanian: inginer (ro) m, ingineră (ro) f
• Russian: инженер (ru) (inženér) m and f
• Scots: ingineer
• Scottish Gaelic: innleadair (gd) m, einnseanair (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: инжењер (sh) m

  Roman: inženjer (sh) m

• Sinhalese: මැවිසුරු (si) (mawisuru)
• Slovak: inžinier (sk) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: inženjer m, inženjerka f

  Upper Sorbian: inženjer (hsb) m

• Spanish: ingeniero (es) m
• Swedish: ingenjör (sv) c
• Tagalog: inhinyero (tl)
• Telugu: యంత్రకారుడు (te)
• Thai: วิศวกร (th) (wísàwàgon)
• Turkish: mühendis (tr)
• Vietnamese: kĩ sư (vi)
• Welsh: peiriannwr (cy) m, peiriannydd (cy) m

A person who finds a technical solution to a problem

• Dutch: ingenieur (nl) m and f, probleemoplosser (nl) m
• Finnish: suunnittelija (fi)
• Greek: μηχανικός (el) (michanikós) m and f
• Romanian: ingenios (ro) m

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: инжењер (sh) m

  Roman: inženjer (sh) m

• Sinhalese: මැවිසුරු (si) (mawisuru)

Locomotive operator

• Bulgarian: машинист (bg) (mašinist) m
• Dutch: machinist (nl) m
• Finnish: veturinkuljettaja (fi)
• French: machiniste (fr) m, mécanicien (fr) m
• Galician: maquinista (gl) m and f
• German: Maschinist (de) m, Maschinistin (de) f
• Greek: μηχανικός (el) (michanikós) m and f
• Italian: macchinista (it) m
• Japanese: 機関士 (ja) (きかんし, kikanshi)
• Korean: 기술자 (ko) (gisulja)
• Polish: maszynista (pl) m

• Portuguese: maquinista (pt) m and f
• Romanian: mecanic (ro) m and f
• Russian: машинист (ru) (mašiníst) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: возовођа (sh) m, машиновођа (sh) m, влаковођа (sh) m, стројовођа (sh) m

  Roman: vozovođa (sh) m, mašinovođa (sh) m, vlakovođa (sh) m, strojovođa (sh) m

• Swedish: lokförare (sv)
• Tagalog: inhinyero (tl)
• Vietnamese: người phụ trách máy (vi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hindi: अभियंता (hi)

Verb

engineer (third-person singular simple present engineers, present participle engineering, simple past and past participle engineered)

1. (transitive) To design, construct or manage something as an engineer.
2. (transitive) To alter or construct something by means of genetic engineering.
3. (transitive) To plan or achieve some goal by contrivance or guile; to wangle or finagle.

Translations

to work as engineer

• Finnish: suunnitella (fi), toteuttaa (fi) (depending on the focus of the work)
• Greek: χαλκεύω (el) (chalkévo), απεργάζομαι (el) (apergázomai), εξυφαίνω (el) (exyfaíno), (informal) σκαρώνω (el) (skaróno)

• Jèrriais: înginnyi

to do genetic engineering

• Spanish: manipular genéticamente

to plan or achieve a goal by contrivance or guile

• Finnish: suunnitella (fi), juonia (fi)
• Greek: εξυφαίνω (el) (exyfaíno)

• Hebrew: הינדס (he) (hindés)
• Portuguese: maquinar (pt)

External links

• engineer in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• engineer in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911