bellicose

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bellicose,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin bellicōsus (“warlike, given to fighting”),^{[5][6][2][7][8]} from bellicus (“of war”),^[6][3][8][9] from bellum (“war”),^[6][7][3][9] which in Old Latin was duellum.^[6][3][10] Barnhart suggests that Italian bellicoso, recorded in 1363, may have helped the borrowing.^[11] The further origin of the Latin noun is uncertain;^[6][10] Etymonline quotes de Vaan, who considers Pinault's proposal of 1987 the best so far: a diminutive *duelno- of the word that gave bonus, used as a euphemism for deeds of valour.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Inclined to war or fighting: 1432–50, in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon,^[5] which Barnhart dates probably before 1425.^[11] The MED, which has the same translation with a possible composition date before 1425, quotes "beenge wyckede and bellicose" for Higden's Latin bellicosissimus.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word has changed little from its Latin source.^[5][3] In Middle English it was used of warlike people and also of military equipment.^[2] Modern dictionaries add the wider sense of being aggressive or ready to quarrel, without war in view.^[3][12] The noun bellicosity came much later: 1840 in Etymonline, 1884 in the OED.^[6][5]

Timeline

• 1432–50 – inclined to war or fighting.^[5] Barnhart dates the same text probably before 1425.^[11]
• 1840 – the derivative bellicosity.^[6] The OED's first record is from 1884.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Inclined to war; warlike: The bellicose duke marched on his neighbours.^[3][5][12]
2. Ready to quarrel or fight; aggressive, combative: His bellicose speech alarmed the other delegates.^[3][12]

Word family

• bellicosely
• bellicosity
• unbellicose

Related words

• antebellum
• belligerent
• Bellona
• postbellum
• rebel
• rebellion
• duel
• revel

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins