Where does “rearguard action” come from?
rearguard action (English) comes from English action, from Middle English accioun, from Old French aucion, from Latin āctiō, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō, from Latin dissertus, from Latin disserere — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
rearguard action (English): An offensive action by a rearguard
Definitions
- An offensive action by a rearguard
Ancestry of “rearguard action”, step by step
rearguard action traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English action
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | action | Something done, often so as to accomplish a... |
| 2 | Middle English | accioun | An action; an act, behaviour or attribute |
| 3 | Old French | aucion | action; act; deed |
| 4 | Latin | āctiō | action; a doing or performing, behavior |
| 5 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 6 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 7 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 8 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 9 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 10 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 11 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English rearguard
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rearguard | The rearmost part of a force, especially a... |
| 2 | English | guard | A person who, or thing that, protects or watches... |
| 3 | Middle English | garde | guardianship, safeguarding, covering, authority;... |
| 4 | Old French | guarde | protection; act of protecting; guard; inflection... |
| 5 | Old French | guarder | to protect; to guard; to look at |
| 6 | Frankish | wardēn | to protect; to guard, protect, watch over; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | wardāną | to guard, protect, watch over |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *warduz | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |