Motor vs engine

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Does anybody know the difference, if there is any?

[poli]

They are often interchangable. Engines are often larger, but the moter of
the car is also the car's engine.

In recent years there have been changes. Google is a seach engine but
not a search motor. A mega-tool is often referred to metaphorically as an
engine. Example: Language is an amazing engine of the human mind.

Conversely the body's motor is the heart.

[wrholt]

I agree with poli: many people use 'engine' and 'motor' interchangeably, without distinguisihing the original differences between the words.

That said, however, there can be a distinction between them: some people prefer to use 'engine' for those devices that burn something to produce the motive force, and use 'motor' for those devices that receive energy from something else, such as an electric storage battery.

Consider a gasoline(petrol)/electric hybrid vehicle: it has an internal combustion engine that burns fuel to produce electricity to charge a battery AND to supply to other devices, including the electric motor which draws current from the battery and/or the engine and converts it to torque to drive the wheels.

[poli]

Motor is also a commonly used adjective (such as motor skills), but engine is not (with the exception of engine room).

[Awaken]

Ignoring the new definitions of the word (search engine, etc...):

While the idea means mostly the same thing, there are just "correct" uses in the language. As poli mentioned, motor is thought to be a close relation to the actually movement. Engine seems to relate to a combustion engine of some sort running on a fuel. Steam engine, internal combustion engine, etc...

Electrical vehicles use a motor, not an engine. Cars that run on gasoline use an internal combustion engine.

Of course it is still a blurry line since your car's engine needs motor oil

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Awaken

Of course it is still a blurry line since your car's engine needs motor oil

It's all rather difficult. I would never say motor oil, always engine oil.

I think engine is (or was) a more general concept. From Latin ingenium, a clever device, a machine. A motor specifically imparts motion. Having said that, they seem interchangeable for vehicles, hardly surprising really. I'll try to engineer some examples where they are not.

Afterthought: As far as body parts are concerned, motor is used for things imparting motion, and engine is not used.

Edit: Just noticed this:

Originally Posted by Awaken

Ignoring the new definitions of the word (search engine, etc...):

This of course is an example of the original use of the word, = a device.

[Awaken]

Originally Posted by Perikles

It's all rather difficult. I would never say motor oil, always engine oil.

The BrE is better than the AmE on this one then since it is more accurate.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Castrol-Edge...7686294&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Castrol-CST064...7686325&sr=8-1

Hehe. You guys win.