Where does “war” come from?
War comes from Middle English werre, from Old French guerrer and guerreier, tracing back through Proto-Germanic werraną to Proto-Indo-European roots wer- and wers-.
war (English): Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between...
Definitions
- Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between...
Ancestry of “war”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | werre | War in general; the practice of fighting between... |
| 2 | Old Norse | verri | comparative degree of illr, worse; worse |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | wirsizô | comparative degree of *ubilaz; worse |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | wers- | to wipe; peak, height |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |