Added 7 October 2026
war
/wɔː/ symbol
In Latin: bellum, arma, duellum Wiktionary
symbol Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about war at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
noun
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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.(Can we clean up this sense?)
War is merely the continuation of policy by other means; War is hell
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A particular conflict of this kind.
a war of succession... a war of attrition... the Cold War... World War III...
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Protracted armed conflict against irregular forces, sometimes those considered terrorists.
the Great Emu War... the Global War on Terrorism...
verb
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”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)