Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗verb
To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe). · To carry on, as a contest; to wage.
noun
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryOrganized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces. · A particular conflict of this kind. · Protracted armed conflict against irregular forces, sometimes those considered terrorists. · Protracted state or state-sponsored political violence against dissidents.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wers-der. Proto-Germanic *werzaną Proto-West Germanic *werʀan Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Germanic *-ō Proto-West Germanic *-u Frankish *werʀubor. Early Medieval Latin werra Old Northern French guerreder. Old English werre Middle English werre English war 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.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionwerreenm
- Inherited-form mentionwerre//wyrreang
- Cognate mentionguerrefr
- Derivation mention*wers-ine-pro · to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh
- Non-cognate comparisonbeaduang
- Cognate mentionwerragoh · confusion, strife, quarrel
- Cognate mentionverwirrende · to confuse
- Cognate mentionwerranosx · to confuse, perplex
- Cognate mentionwarnl · confusion, disarray
- Cognate mentionwarfy · struggle, resistance, defense, effort, exertion, activity
This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:werre<id:war>",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *wers-der.\nProto-Germanic *werzaną\nProto-West Germanic *werʀan\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Germanic *-ō\nProto-West Germanic *-u\nFrankish *werʀubor.\nEarly Medieval Latin werra\nOld Northern French guerreder.\nOld English werre\nMiddle English werre\nEnglish war\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"war\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"confusion\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to cause confusion\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to cause confusion\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"wipe\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*wers-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*werzaną\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*werʀan\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"noun suffix\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"noun\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"o-grade\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-éh₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ō\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-u\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Frankish\", \"term\" : \"*werʀu\", \"lang\" : \"frk\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Early Medieval Latin\", \"term\" : \"werra\", \"lang\" : \"la-eme\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old Northern French\", \"term\" : \"guerre\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fro-nor\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"werre\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"werre\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"war\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"war\">"
},
{
"name": "yesno",
"args": {
"1": "",
"2": "i",
"3": "I"
},
"expansion": "I"
},
{
"name": "glossary",
"args": {
"1": "Inherited"
},
"expansion": "Inherited"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "werre",
"4": "",
"5": "",
"lit": "",
"pos": "",
"tr": "",
"ts": "",
"id": "",
"sc": "",
"g": "",
"g2": "",
"g3": "",
"nocat": "",
"sort": ""
},
"expansion": "Middle English werre"
},
{
"name": "inh+",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "werre"
},
"expansion": "Inherited from Middle English werre"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "werre//wyrre",
"4": "",
"5": "armed conflict"
},
"expansion": "Old English werre /wyrre (“armed conflict”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "xno",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Anglo-Norman"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fro-nor",
"3": "guerre//werre"
},
"expansion": "Old Northern French guerre /werre"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fr",
"2": "guerre"
},
"expansion": "French guerre"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la-med",
"3": "werra"
},
"expansion": "Medieval Latin werra"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "frk",
"3": "*werʀu",
"t": "confusion; quarrel"
},
"expansion": "Frankish *werʀu (“confusion; quarrel”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*wers-",
"t": "to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *wers- (“to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh”)"
},
{
"name": "ncog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "beadu"
},
"expansion": "Old English beadu"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "goh",
"2": "werra",
"t": "confusion, strife, quarrel"
},
"expansion": "Old High German werra (“confusion, strife, quarrel”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "verwirren",
"t": "to confuse"
},
"expansion": "German verwirren (“to confuse”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "osx",
"2": "werran",
"t": "to confuse, perplex"
},
"expansion": "Old Saxon werran (“to confuse, perplex”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "war",
"t": "confusion, disarray"
},
"expansion": "Dutch war (“confusion, disarray”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "war",
"t": "struggle, resistance, defense, effort, exertion, activity"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian war (“struggle, resistance, defense, effort, exertion, activity”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "it,pt,es",
"2": "guerra",
"t": "war"
},
"expansion": "Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish guerra (“war”)"
},
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:werre<id:war>",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *wers-der.\nProto-Germanic *werzaną\nProto-West Germanic *werʀan\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Germanic *-ō\nProto-West Germanic *-u\nFrankish *werʀubor.\nEarly Medieval Latin werra\nOld Northern French guerreder.\nOld English werre\nMiddle English werre\nEnglish war"
}
],
"links": [
[
"*wers-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wers-#Proto-Indo-European:_wipe"
],
[
"*werzaną",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/werzaną#Proto-Germanic:_to_cause_confusion"
],
[
"*werʀan",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/werʀan#Proto-West_Germanic:_to_cause_confusion"
],
[
"*-h₂",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-h₂#Proto-Indo-European:_collective_nouns"
],
[
"*-éh₂",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-éh₂#Proto-Indo-European:_o-grade"
],
[
"*-ō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ō#Proto-Germanic:_noun"
],
[
"*-u",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-u#Proto-West_Germanic:_noun_suffix"
],
[
"*werʀu",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/werʀu#Proto-West_Germanic:_confusion"
],
[
"werra",
"werra#Latin:_war"
],
[
"guerre",
"guerre#Old_French"
],
[
"werre",
"werre#Old_English"
],
[
"werre",
"werre#Middle_English:_war"
],
[
"werre",
"werre#Middle_English"
],
[
"werre",
"werre#Old_English"
],
[
"wyrre",
"wyrre#Old_English"
],
[
"guerre",
"guerre#Old_French"
],
[
"werre",
"werre#Old_French"
],
[
"guerre",
"guerre#French"
],
[
"werra",
"werra#Latin"
],
[
"*werʀu",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/werʀu"
],
[
"*wers-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wers-"
],
[
"beadu",
"beadu#Old_English"
],
[
"hild",
"hild#Old_English"
],
[
"ġewinn",
"gewinn#Old_English"
],
[
"orleġe",
"orlege#Old_English"
],
[
"wīġ",
"wig#Old_English"
],
[
"werra",
"werra#Old_High_German"
],
[
"verwirren",
"verwirren#German"
],
[
"Wehr",
"Wehr#German"
],
[
"werran",
"werran#Old_Saxon"
],
[
"war",
"war#Dutch"
],
[
"war",
"war#West_Frisian"
],
[
"Italian",
"guerra#Italian"
],
[
"Portuguese",
"guerra#Portuguese"
],
[
"guerra",
"guerra#Spanish"
],
[
"worse",
"worse#English"
],
[
"wurst",
"wurst#English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To engage in conflict (may be followed by \"with\" to specify the foe).",
"To carry on, as a contest; to wage."
],
"tags": [
"intransitive",
"transitive"
],
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{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"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.",
"A particular conflict of this kind.",
"Protracted armed conflict against irregular forces, sometimes those considered terrorists.",
"Protracted state or state-sponsored political violence against dissidents."
],
"tags": [
"uncountable",
"countable",
"proscribed",
"sometimes",
"broadly"
],
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"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
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"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 8,
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}
}