Raspy

Why do so many guys call the Cummins engine a "motor"?

Dodge calls it an engine. Cummins calls it an engine.

I always think of something that uses electricity as a motor and if it uses fuel it's an engine. Or maybe if it's a very small engine, motor works OK, but a big heavy diesel engine being called a motor is a bit of a stretch. Do ships have motors? Do big rigs have motors? When someone installs a motor driven compressor what have they done? Is is a compressor with an electric motor or an engine driven compressor?

I consider that big roaring iron thing under the hood to be an engine. A motor runs the winshield wipers and blows the air when the heater is on. The lift pump is motor driven and a motor adjusts my seat. They run on electricity. My tractor has a diesel engine. If it roars and blows smoke it's an engine. Motors whine and sharpen pencils or mix cookie dough or power my shaver or move paper through my printer. Engines run power plants, propel ships and pump concrete. They burn fuel. And my favorite engine, a diesel engine, powers my Dodge. I don't consider it a motor.


John

Shovelhead

for the same reason that many folks call a firearm magazine a "Clip".

They have become accustomed to using the incorrect name for so long that the two terms have almost become interchangable.

Dodgezilla

Kind of like people calling a tissue a Kleenex even if it's not that brand....

Jfaulkner

Some people claim that a "Heat" power source is called an engine (diesel, gasoline, propane, natural gas......ect) and a non heat power source, like electric is called a motor. But that doesn't always work because for instance on a boat it's an "outboard motor" I don't know anyone that says outboard engine. I think it's just like the "Soda" and "Pop" thing, call it whatever you wish. If the person your talking to doesn't understand what your talking about, do you really want to talk to them?

BearKiller

Even the big-name people that should know better mess it up.

Motorcraft, Motorsports, Etc.

I always consider a MOTOR to be electric and anything compression-powered is an ENGINE.


Another peeve I have is those that should know better using the phrase "point blank range" completely out of context; the news does it, movies do it, even cops get it all wrong, and it makes them lose credibility.



"Point blank range" has absolutely nothing to do with something being shot "up close".


The true definition of "point blank range" is :

That spread of distance in a projectiles trajectory where the projectile is within ONE INCH of point-of-aim, meaning the bullet is no more than one-inch above, nor one-inch below, the line of sight.



Of course, long before internal combustion, there were "siege engines" that had neither electricity, or fuel.




What really sounds silly is for someone to call an electric motor "a big 'lectric engine".

wurkenman

Or the fact that all body filler is not Bondo.

Raspy

Another one that really makes me cringe is RPMs or RPM's. Sheesh. It's RPM. Revolutions Per Minute. It's already plural and doesn't have ownership. RPM.


John

dodgeguy71

Heavy equipment like excavators and dozers have a hydraulic pump and two drive motors So my thinking has always been a motor = hydraulics and an engine = an engine

gm1276

Personally i don't feel it matters. the two terms have become interchangable through their usage in the modern day. Same thing with RPM, sometimes I'll say Rpm's (pluralized), RPM, or revs. Does it make a difference? They're all saying the same thing.

Sidewinder

Actually motor is OK. The definition of motor:

motor

Something, such as a machine or an engine, that produces or imparts motion.

1. A device that converts any form of energy into mechanical energy, especially an internal-combustion engine or an arrangement of coils and magnets that converts electric current into mechanical power.

blackdiesel

see, thats where your wrong.

One day in shop class at school me and one of my friends were "tinkering" with an old orbital sander, electric of course. and it starting making an awful roar and then went up in smoke. LOL

xtoyz17

I think someone had a rough day...

Totallyrad

Or a skidsteer by any name a Bobcat.

wannadiesel

Not everyone is a semantics professor...

Yes, words do mean specific things, but unless not using the exact correct word will cause a misunderstanding or confusion there's no reason to correct someone's usage.

annabelle

Engine = conbustion, motor = electric.