Where does “rearmament” come from?
Rearmament derives from French réarmement, composed of the prefix ré- from Latin re- meaning "again" and French -ment from Middle French -ment, combined with arma from Latin arma meaning "weapons," itself from Proto-Indo-European h₂er- meaning "to fit together."
rearmament (English): The process of rearming
Ancestry of “rearmament”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | re- | again, anew; a completive or intensification of... |
| 2 | Middle English | re- | — |
| 3 | Old French | re- | re- |
| 4 | Latin | rĕ- | — |
| 5 | Latin | prōdūcō | — |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |