Where does “Civil War” come from?
Civil War (English) comes from English civil war, from Latin bellum civile, from Latin bellum, from Latin bellus, from Latin villus, from Latin vellus, from Proto-Indo-European h₂welh₁- — to rule; strong, powerful; hair; wool.
Ancestry of “Civil War”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | civil war | A war fought between factions of the inhabitants... |
| 2 | Latin | bellum civile | civil war |
| 3 | Latin | bellum | war; nominative neuter singular of bellus;... |
| 4 | Latin | bellus | beautiful, pretty, handsome; pleasant, agreeable,... |
| 5 | Latin | villus | hair, tuft of hair, shaggy hair |
| 6 | Latin | vellus | The wool shorn from a sheep; fleece; wool; The... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂welh₁- | to rule; strong, powerful; hair; wool |