Accend

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic term meaning to set something on fire or cause it to begin burning
2. To light a fire or ignite something so that it starts to burn, now a rare old-fashioned usage
3. Old word for kindling a flame, or setting something alight so that it catches fire

Etymology: "Accend" is an archaic verb meaning to kindle or set fire to, and it reached English from Latin "accendere," literally "to kindle." Its roots are plain: the prefix "ad-" (meaning "to" or "toward") joined to "candere," "to shine" or "to glow," the same root that gives English words like "candle" and "incandescent." So the word began as a picture of light being brought toward something until it caught fire. The English form arrived through Middle English "accenden," which shows the Latin verb passing into the language and keeping its literal sense of setting alight. The verb was used in its literal fire-starting sense, and the figurative sense of stirring up passion or feeling grew out of that same image of ignition.