armistice English · revision 838

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɑːmɪstɪs/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɑɹmɪstɪs/, /-məstəs/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|armistice]] (1688),^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) [[der|la-new|armistitium]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) coined on the model of [[la|solstitium|t=solstice]],^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|arma|t=arms]] and ''-stitium'' “a stopping”, from ''sistere'' “to stop, stand”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) German ''Waffenstillstand'' is a loan translation of the French word.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A cessation from arms, a short truce (1707); the Latin form ''armistitium'' is recorded in English from the 1660s.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By 1814 the word could be used figuratively of any break in hostile dealings.^(OED 1989) ''Armistice Day'' (1919) commemorated the armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the First World War.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In Britain it merged after the Second World War with Remembrance Day, and in the United States, where it became a national holiday in 1926, it was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1660s – ''armistitium'' in English texts.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1707 – ''armistice'', a truce.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1814 – figuratively, a cessation of hostility.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1919 – ''Armistice Day''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A temporary suspension of fighting by agreement between the opposing sides; a [[truce]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A formal agreement, especially between nations, to end fighting.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Armistice Day]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[solstice]]

+ * [[truce]]

+ * [[arms]]

+ * [[armada]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}