warship

Etymology

It is formed from English war + ship.^[2][3][4] The OED compares the phrase ship of war.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A ship equipped with weapons and built for fighting at sea: 1488, in a manuscript of Hary's Wallace, a poem written about 1478.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to the 1530s, Merriam-Webster to 1533 and Dictionary.com to 1525–35.^[3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its first meaning, a government ship used in war, especially one armed for combat; it is also called a war vessel.^[5][4][6] Since 1898, in a story by G. P. Serviss printed in a Spokane newspaper, science fiction has used it for a spaceship built for warfare, often with a word naming its type or origin.^[2]

Timeline

• 1488 – a ship armed and built for naval warfare.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to the 1530s, Merriam-Webster to 1533.^[3][5]
• 1898 – in science fiction, a spaceship used for warfare.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A ship armed and armoured for naval warfare; a government ship used in war: Two warships escorted the convoy.^[6][5][2]
2. In science fiction, a spaceship used for war.^[2]

Usage notes

An unrelated warship, meaning caution or prudence, was used from late Old English to about 1300; it was wærscipe, formed from wær (“wary”), the source of ware, and the suffix -ship.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins