I understand what you're saying,but it seems the ICE was invented before the electric motor.Kevin Johnson wrote:
Yes, I studied theoretical linguistics and spent a good deal of time with the history of words. The two sources you have were not researched very well. Why would I say this? The inventor of the electric "motor" himself uses the term "engine" - shame, shame, eh? I think what has happened over time with the terms 'engine' and 'motor' is that for whatever reasons, perhaps aesthetics or a desire by some for succinctness and rigid definition, modern viewpoints are being exported backwards and revising history. Rawls (see also Goodman) had a term for this: reflective equilibrium.
The way I see it,motors derive their motive energy from external sources - air,liquid,electricity,etc.
Internal combustion engines create their motive energy from internal,chemical reactions.