Where does “gwerra” come from?

gwerra (Maltese) comes from Italian guerra, from Late Latin werra, from Frankish *werʀu, from Proto-Indo-European wers-, from Proto-Indo-European wer- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.

gwerra (Maltese): war

Definitions

  1. war

Ancestry of “gwerra”, step by step

gwerra traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Italian guerra

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianguerrawar, warfare
2Late Latinwerra—
3Frankish*werʀu—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwers-to wipe; peak, height
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

via Sicilian guerra

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Sicilianguerrawar
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European wers- →Every word from Frankish *werʀu →