guerre (French)
Where does "guerre" come from?
The French word 'guerre' traces its origins back to the Frankish term *werru, meaning 'confusion' or 'quarrel.' This word entered Early Medieval Latin as 'werra' before evolving through Old and Middle French to become the modern term for war. This linguistic journey reflects how a word once describing a general state of social disorder gradually took on its current, more specific meaning of large-scale armed conflict.
Full etymology tree
- guerre (French), 'war'
- inherited guerre (Middle French), 'war (large-scale combat)'
- inherited guerre (Old French), 'war (large-scale conflict)'
- inherited werra (Latin), 'war'
- borrowed *werru (Frankish)
- inherited werra (Latin), 'war'
- inherited guerre (Old French), 'war (large-scale conflict)'
- inherited guerre (Middle French), 'war (large-scale combat)'
Ancestors
- guerre (Middle French)
- guerre (Old French)
- werra (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
Descendants and derived words
- aguerrir (French)
- à la guerre comme à la guerre (French)
- art de la guerre (French)
- char de guerre (French)
- chef de guerre (French)
- cri de guerre (French)
- crime de guerre (French)
- criminel de guerre (French)
- de bonne guerre (French)
- déclaration de guerre (French)
- de guerre lasse (French)
- déterrer la hache de guerre (French)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris