Enflamer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that stirs up passion, anger, or intense emotion in others
2. Someone or something that kindles strong feelings or provokes heated reaction among people
3. An agent that fans the flames of excitement, resentment, or fervent response in a group

Etymology: The French verb "enflamer" comes from Latin "inflammare," built from "in-" (here meaning "into") and "flamma," "flame." Old French kept the sense of setting something alight and gradually added the figurative sense of stirring up passions, which is the sense that dominates in modern French. English has the same word twice. "Enflame," with its French-style spelling, came into English through Old French during the Middle Ages, while "inflame" was borrowed later straight from Latin, so the two forms are doublets that share a root but arrived by different routes. The Latin-derived spelling has largely won out in English, though "enflame" survives in literary and poetic use.

Synonyms: inciter, instigator