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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

war

/wɔː/
Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces.

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    Origin

    Inherited from Middle English werre, from Late Old English werre /wyrre (“armed conflict”), from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French guerre /werre (compare modern French guerre), from Medieval Latin werra, from Frankish *werʀu (“confusion; quarrel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wers- (“to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh”). Gradually displaced native Old English beadu, hild, ġewinn, orleġe, wīġ, and many others as the general term for "war" during the Middle English period.

    Related to Old High German werra (“confusion, strife, quarrel”) and German verwirren (“to confuse”), but not to Wehr (“defense”). Also related to Old Saxon werran (“to confuse, perplex”), Dutch war (“confusion, disarray”), West Frisian war (“struggle, resistance, defense, effort, exertion, activity”), and Romance terms borrowed from Germanic, such as Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish guerra (“war”). Not likely related to worse or wurst.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishwerre
      • inheritedOld Englishwerre
        • derivedOld Northern Frenchguerre
          • inheritedEarly Medieval Latinwerra
            • borrowedFrankish*werʀu “confusion; quarrel”
              • partProto-West Germanic*werʀan
                • inheritedProto-Germanic*werzaną
                  • derivedProto-Indo-European*wers- “to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh”
              • partProto-West Germanic*-u
                • inheritedProto-Germanic*-ō
                  • inheritedProto-Indo-European*-éh₂
                    • derivedProto-Indo-European*-h₂

    Related: French guerre, Old High German werra, German verwirren, Old Saxon werran, Dutch war, West Frisian war, it,pt,es guerra

    Words built on it: Long War

    Meanings

    noun
    1. Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces.
    2. A particular conflict of this kind.
    3. Protracted armed conflict against irregular forces, particularly groups considered terrorists.
    4. Protracted state or state-sponsored political violence against dissidents.
    5. Any protracted conflict, particularly
    6. A sustained campaign against a social problem, idea, set of values, etc.
    verb
    1. To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe).
    2. To carry on, as a contest; to wage.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: war