war

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*wers-
2. Proto-Germanic*werzaną
3. Proto-West Germanic*werʀan
4. Frankish*werʀ
5. Early Medieval Latinwerra
6. Old Northern Frenchguerre
7. Old Englishwerre
8. Middle Englishwerre
9. English todaywar

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.

Words from the same roots