Where does “gunfire” come from?
Gunfire derives from English gun and English fire, with fire tracing through Proto-Germanic fōr to Proto-Indo-European péh₂wr̥, meaning fire or flame.
gunfire (English): Shots from a gun or guns, typically creating loud...
Definitions
- Shots from a gun or guns, typically creating loud...
Ancestry of “gunfire”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | gun | A device for projecting a hard object very... |
| 2 | Middle English | gunne | A trebuchet or similar kind of pellet-firing... |
| 3 | Old Norse | Gunnhildr | — |
| 4 | Old Norse | Gunnr | — |
| 5 | Old Norse | guðr | battle, war |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | gunþiz | battle |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷʰéntis | striking, killing |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷʰen- | to strike, slay, kill |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰon- | — |