Where does “warship” come from?
Warship comes from Middle English ship and Old French guerreier, which derive from Proto-Indo-European roots skeyb- and wer-.
warship (English): Any ship built or armed for naval combat
Definitions
- Any ship built or armed for naval combat
Ancestry of “warship”, step by step
warship traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English ship
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ship | A water-borne vessel generally larger than a... |
| 2 | English | relationship | Connection or association; the condition of being... |
| 3 | English | relation | The manner in which two things may be associated;... |
| 4 | Middle English | relacion | — |
| 5 | Old French | relacion | — |
| 6 | Latin | relātiō | carrying or bringing back |
| 7 | Latin | referō | to bear, bring, drive, or carry back, off, or away |
| 8 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 9 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 10 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English War
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | War | Preceded by [[the#Article |
| 2 | Middle English | werre | War in general; the practice of fighting between... |
| 3 | Old Norse | verri | comparative degree of illr, worse; worse |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wirsizô | comparative degree of *ubilaz; worse |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wers- | to wipe; peak, height |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |