Where does “ceasefire” come from?
Ceasefire derives from English cease and fire, with cease coming from Middle English cesen, Middle French cesser, and Latin cesso, ultimately from Latin cedo meaning to yield or go away.
ceasefire (English): Alternative spelling of cease-fire
Definitions
- Alternative spelling of cease-fire
Ancestry of “ceasefire”, step by step
ceasefire traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English cease
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cease | To stop; To stop doing; To be wanting; to fail;... |
| 2 | Middle English | cesen | — |
| 3 | Middle French | cesser | to cease; to stop |
| 4 | Old French | cesser | to cease; to stop |
| 5 | Latin | cessō | to stop, desist, halt, cease |
| 6 | Latin | cēdō | to go, move, proceed, go along, move along |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kedō | give here! |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | ke | here |
| 9 | Indo-European | *ḱe | — |
via English fire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fire | A chemical reaction involving the bonding of... |
| 2 | Middle English | fier | Alternative form of figer |
| 3 | Old English | fȳr | fire |
| 4 | Old English | feor | Alternative form of feorr; far |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |