Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “paramilitary” come from?

Paramilitary comes from English military, French parachute, and Latin par and cadere, meaning to fall equally or in parallel fashion.

paramilitary (English): A group of civilians trained and organized in a...

Definitions

  1. A group of civilians trained and organized in a...

Ancestry of “paramilitary”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishpara-above, beyond; beside, near, alongside;...
2EnglishparachuteA device, generally constructed from fabric, that...
3Frenchparachuteparachute
4Frenchpara-para-
5Italianpara-para-
6Italianparacrepe rubber; crepe; third-person singular...
7Italianparanoiaparanoia
8Ancient Greekπαράνοιαderangement, madness
9Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
10Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
11Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “paramilitary”

  • paramilitarily
  • antiparamilitary
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →