Etymologically
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warfare

Etymology and origin of the English word warfare

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1456

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈwɔːfɛə/ (UK); /ˈwɔɹfɛɹ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, from war and fare, a journey.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A going to war, a military expedition; the carrying on of war: the mid-15th century, implied in warfaringe; 1456 in the OED.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

To go a warfare, to go to war, is from 1483.[5] Figurative use, any struggle or conflict, is by the 1540s (1549 in the OED).[2][5] A verb warfare, to wage war, was used from 1565, with warfarer, a warrior.[5] Combinations such as biological warfare denote kinds of military operations.[4][6]

Timeline

  • 1456 – the action of making war.[5]
  • 1483 – to go a warfare.[5]
  • 1549 – figurative use.[5]
  • 1565 – to wage war (verb).[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The waging of war; armed conflict.
  2. Military operations of a particular kind: guerrilla warfare.
  3. A state of conflict or strife.

Word family

  • biowarfare
  • biological warfare
  • chemical warfare
  • germ warfare
  • guerrilla warfare
  • psychological warfare
  • trench warfare

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Warfare.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/warfare. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·