Etymologically
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guerrilla

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɡəˈɹɪlə/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish guerrilla (“skirmishing warfare, literally little war”),[2][3][4][5] a diminutive of Spanish guerra (“war”),[2][3][4] which is of Germanic origin,[2][3] related to Old High German werra “strife” and to English war.[3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fighter in an irregular, independent force (1809).[6][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

English acquired the word in the Peninsular War (1808–1814), when bands of Spanish peasants harassed the occupying French.[5][7] In Spanish it named the warfare itself, and the OED records this sense in English in 1819, but the personal sense, which properly belonged to guerrillero, became the usual one.[6][5][7] The adjective dates from 1811, and figurative use from 1861.[4][5][3]

Timeline

  • 1809 – a fighter in irregular warfare.[6][3][4][5]
  • 1811 – adjective, as in guerrilla war.[6][3][4]
  • 1819 – irregular warfare by small independent bands.[6]
  • 1861 – figurative use.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A member of a small, irregular armed band that harasses an enemy with surprise raids and sabotage.

Adjective

  1. Relating to such fighters or their methods.
  2. Unconventional or subversive in method, as in guerrilla marketing.

Word family

  • guerrillaism
  • guerrilla warfare

Usage notes

The variant spelling guerilla is also used.[3][7]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House