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Original · left

Engine (machine)

A mechanical machine utilizing combustion to convert fuel energy into vehicle motion.

First in use: the 1600s
Duplicate · right

Software engine

The core software subsystem driving essential application operations, such as a browser rendering engine or 3D game engine.

First in use: the 1990s

Engine / Engine (machine) / Software engine

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Canonical todayMeasuring…
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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Combustion vs. Unreal.

Which meaning of Engine is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Engine (machine) came first (the 1600s). Software engine arrived in the 1990s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Engine (machine)Software engine
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · the 1600s

Engine (machine)

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Duplicate · the 1990s

Software engine

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More duplicated terms

Programming & software