Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. A period during which a war is in progress in a...

Ancestry of “wartime”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishTime—
2Middle Englishtymethyme; time; A specific duration or period of...
3Old Frenchthym—
4Latinthymumthyme; accusative singular of thymus
5Ancient Greekθύμονthyme
6Ancient GreekθύωI offer in sacrifice, slay, burn, immolate; I...
7Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “wartime”

  • nonwartime
  • prewartime
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →