Where does “wartime” come from?
Wartime derives from English war and time, with war tracing through Middle English werre to Old French guerre, ultimately from Latin bellum meaning "armed conflict."
wartime (English): A period during which a war is in progress in a...
Definitions
- A period during which a war is in progress in a...
Ancestry of “wartime”, step by step
wartime traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Time
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Time | The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events |
| 2 | Middle English | tyme | thyme; time; A specific duration or period of... |
| 3 | Old French | thym | — |
| 4 | Latin | thymum | thyme; accusative singular of thymus |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | θύμον | thyme |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | θύω | I offer in sacrifice, slay, burn, immolate; I... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
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 |