war definition

Translingual war definition

Symbol

war

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Waray.

English war definition

Alternative forms

• warre (obsolete)
• warr (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English werre, from Late Old English werre, wyrre (“armed conflict”), from Old Northern French werre (compare modern French guerre), from Medieval Latin werra, from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wers- (“to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh”). Gradually displaced native Old English beadu, hild, ġewinn, orleġe, wīġ, and many others as the general term for "war" during the Middle English period.

Related to Old High German werra (“confusion, strife, quarrel”) and German verwirren (“to confuse”), Old Saxon werran (“to confuse, perplex”), Dutch war (“confusion, disarray”), West Frisian war (“defense, self-defense, struggle", also "confusion”), Old English wyrsa, wiersa (“worse”), Old Norse verri (“worse, orig. confounded, mixed up”), Italian guerra (“war”). There may be a connection with worse and wurst.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wɔː/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /wɔɹ/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Homophones: wore, wor (some dialects)
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
• (obsolete or Philippine) IPA^(key): /wɑɹ/

Noun

war (countable and uncountable, plural wars)

1. (uncountable) Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually but not always involving active engagement of military forces.

   holy war... just war... civil war...

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 1:10:

     Come on, let vs deale wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to passe that when there falleth out any warre, they ioyne also vnto our enemies, and fight against vs, and so get them vp out of the land.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 13:7:

     And when yee shall heare of warres, and rumors of warres, be yee not troubled: For such things must needs be, but the end shall not be yet.

   • 1854, Prince George, letter to his wife from Crimea:

     War is indeed a fearful thing and the more I see it the more dreadful it appears.

   • 1864 Sept. 12, William Tecumseh Sherman, letter to the mayor of Atlanta & al.:

     You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our Country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out... You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against these terrible hardships of war.

   • 1879 June 19, William Tecumseh Sherman, speech to the Michigan Military Academy:

     I've been where you are now and I know just how you feel. It's entirely natural that there should beat in the breast of every one of you a hope and desire that some day you can use the skill you have acquired here. Suppress it! You don't know the horrible aspects of war. I've been through two wars and I know. I've seen cities and homes in ashes. I've seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is hell!

   • 1907, Edward Porter Alexander, Military Memoirs of a Confederate, page 302:

     Here Lee and Longstreet stood during most of the fighting [at Fredericksburg], and it is told that, on one of the Federal repulses from Marye's Hill, Lee put his hand upon Longstreet's arm and said, "It is well that war is so terrible, or we would grow too fond of it."

   • 1922, Henry Ford, Samuel Crowther, chapter 17, in My Life and Work, Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., →OCLC:

     Nobody can deny that war is a profitable business for those who like that kind of money. War is an orgy of money, just as it is an orgy of blood.

   • 1935, Smedley Butler, War Is a Racket, page 1 & 7:

     War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives... Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and "we must all put our shoulders to the wheel," but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket—and are safely pocketed.

   • 1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. III:

     War is the greatest of all agents of change. It speeds up all processes, wipes out minor distinctions, brings realities to the surface. Above all, war brings it home to the individual that he is not altogether an individual.

   • 1944 June 27, Herbert Hoover, speech to the Republican National Convention:

     Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.

   • 1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, page 3:

     From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:
     WAR IS PEACE
     FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
     IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

   • 1969, “War”, in Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong (lyrics), War & Peace, performed by Edwin Starr:

     War, huh, Good God, y'all!
     What is it good for?
     Absolutely nothing...

   • 1997, Ron Perlman, Fallout:

     War. War never changes. The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth. Spain built an empire from its lust for gold and territory. Hitler shaped a battered Germany into an economic superpower. But war never changes.

   • 2013 July 20, "Old Soldiers?", The Economist, Vol. 408, No. 8845:

     Edward Wilson, the inventor of the field of sociobiology, once wrote that "war is embedded in our very nature". This is a belief commonly held not just by sociobiologists but also by anthropologists and other students of human behaviour. They base it not only on the propensity of modern man to go to war with his neighbours (and, indeed, with people halfway around the world, given the chance) but also on observations of the way those who still live a pre-agricultural "hunter-gatherer" life behave... Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine... One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries... Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful.

2. (countable) A particular conflict of this kind.
   • 1865, Herman Melville, The Surrender at Appomattox:

     All human tribes glad token see
     In the close of the wars of Grant and Lee.

   • 1999 Nov. 8, Bill Clinton, speech at Georgetown University:

     A second challenge will be to implement, with our allies, a plan of stability in the Balkans, so that the region's bitter ethnic problems can no longer be exploited by dictators and Americans do not have to cross the Atlantic again to fight in another war.

   a war of succession... a war of attrition... the Cold War... World War III...

3. (countable, sometimes proscribed) Protracted armed conflict against irregular forces, particularly groups considered terrorists.
   • 2001 Sept. 20, George W. Bush, speech before Congress:

     Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.

   • 2021 Sept. 8, Seth G. Jones, quoted in Chris Moody, "Twenty Years after 9/11, Did US Win Its ‘War on Terror’?" Al-Jazeera:

     "...These wars are not going away. This is at least a generational struggle."

   the Great Emu War... the Global War on Terrorism...

4. (countable, by extension) Any protracted conflict, particularly
   1. (chiefly US) Campaigns against various social problems.
      • 1906, William James, The Moral Equivalent of War:

        The war against war is going to be no holiday excursion or camping party... Ask all our millions, north and south, whether they would vote now (were such a thing possible) to have our war for the Union expunged from history... and probably hardly a handful of eccentrics would say yes. Those ancestors, those efforts, those memories and legends, ar the most ideal part of what we now own together, a sacred spiritual possession worth more than all the blood poured out. Yet ask those same people whether they would be willing, in cold blood, to start another civil war now to gain another similar possession, and not one man or woman would vote for the proposition.

      the War on Poverty... the War on Drugs... the War on Christmas...

   2. (business) A protracted instance of fierce competition in trade.

      price wars... Cola Wars... format wars...

   3. (crime) A prolonged conflict between two groups of organized criminals, usually over organizational or territorial control.

      turf war... gang war... Castellammarese War...

   4. (Internet) An argument between two or more people with opposing opinions on a topic or issue.

      flame war... edit war...

5. (obsolete, uncountable) An assembly of weapons; instruments of war.
   • 1709, Matthew Prior, “Henry and Emma. […]”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, […], published 1779, →OCLC, page 245:

     The God of Love himſelf inhabits there,
     With all his rage, and dread, and grief, and care,
     His complement of ſtores, and total war...

6. (obsolete) Armed forces.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     On thir imbattelld ranks the Waves return,
     And overwhelm thir Warr

8. (uncountable, card games) Any of a family of card games where all cards are dealt at the beginning of play and players attempt to capture them all, typically involving no skill and only serving to kill time.
   • 2004, Karen Salyer McElmurray, Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven:

     We played crazy eights, war, fifty-two card pickup. Rudy flipped the whole deck across the table at me and the cards sailed to the floor, kings, queens, deuces.

Antonyms

• peace

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• battle

Verb

war (third-person singular simple present wars, present participle warring, simple past and past participle warred)

1. (intransitive) To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe).
   • 1595, Samuel Daniel, The First Four Books of the Civil Wars:

     ...to war the Scot, and borders to defend...

   • 1611, King James Bible, Book of Numbers, 31:7:

     And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they slew all the males

   • 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 77:

     Once more vnto the Breach,
     Deare friends, once more...
     Be Coppy now to men of groſſer blood,
     And teach them how to Warre.

   • 1882, George Bernard Shaw, chapter 14, in Cashel Byron's Profession:

     This vein of reflection, warring with his inner knowledge that he had been driven by fear and hatred . . ., produced an exhausting whirl in his thoughts.

   • 1973, Stevie Wonder (lyrics and music), “Higher Ground”, in Innervisions:

     People keep on learning
     Soldiers keep on warring
     World keep on turning
     'Cause it won't be too long

2. (transitive) To carry on, as a contest; to wage.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy 1:18, column 2:

      […], that thou by them mighteſt warre a good warfare, […].

Synonyms

• go to war, wage war, fight

Translations

Anagrams

• RAW, RWA, Rwa, WRA, raw

Ambonese Malay war definition

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps from Dutch vermogen or Portuguese saber.

Verb

war

1. to be able to, can

   Beta war kami iskola dia pung ana sampe masu kaskola tinggi.

   I am able to send their children to our high school.

References

• D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia‎^[1], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

Breton war definition

Preposition

war

1. on, over

   war ar sizhun ― during the week

Inflection

m

warnañ	3	warno
3 f			warni

Derived terms

• diwar
• diwar-benn

Chuukese war definition

Verb

war

1. to arrive

Dusner war definition

Noun

war

1. (fresh) water

References

• D. C. Kamholz, Austronesians in Papua (2014, Berkeley)

Dutch war definition

Etymology

From Middle Dutch werre, warre (“confusion, disarray, conflict”), from Old Dutch *werra, from Proto-West Germanic *werru (“confusion; quarrel”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɑr/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: war
• Rhymes: -ɑr
• Homophone: War

Noun

war f (plural warren, diminutive warretje n)

1. confusion, disarray
   • 2016 March 15, Josien Wolthuizen, Hanneloes Pen, “Man doodgestoken in fietsenwinkel Nieuw-West”, in Het Parool:

     Volgens een bovenbuurvrouw kwamen hulpdiensten rond 12 uur 's middags naar de fietsenwinkel. "Ik had geen idee wat er aan de hand was. Maar de zoon van de eigenaar kwam eraan en was helemaal in de war. (...)"

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. tangle, mess
   • 2016 January 29, “Wist je dat papierklemmen je leven veel gemakkelijker kunnen maken?”, in Het Laatste Nieuws:

     Van statief voor je smartphone tot instrument om oortjes uit de war te houden, tot zelfs een portefeuille. De mogelijkheden met papierklemmen zijn eindeloos, maar de Japanner Venlee geeft je alvast 15 lifehacks.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. an elevated area on the floor of a body of water, a kind of contraption for luring and catching fish, where nets and fykes could be installed
   • 1949, G. Karsten, “Eenvorme, Informe, Yefforme”, in De Speelwagen, 10, no. 4: 307:

     Welnu, deze stoepen of warren bevonden zich aan de walkant en niet midden in het water.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1667, Handtvesten, privilegien, willekeuren ende ordonnantien der Stadt Enchuysen, page 345:

     De Schutters van de respective Steden, werden geauctoriseert, alle de Fuycken, buyten de benoemde Warren in de Wateringh staende, te mogen visiteren, of de selve keur mogen houden ofte niet, (...)

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Quotations

Derived terms

Related terms

• wirwar

Dutch Low Saxon war definition

Alternative forms

• (Low Prussian) wahr

Etymology

From Low German wahr, from Middle Low German wâr, from Old Saxon wār. Cognate to German wahr.

Adjective

war

1. (in some dialects) true

Elfdalian war definition

Etymology

From Old Norse hvar, from Proto-Germanic *hwar. Cognate with Swedish var.

Adverb

war

1. where, in what place

German war definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːɐ̯/

• audio

  (file)

• audio

  (file)

• Homophone: wahr

Verb

war

1. first-person singular preterite of sein
   • 1788, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Egmont‎^[2], archived from the original on 26 September 2009, (English translation):

     Ich hätte ihn heiraten können, und glaube, ich war nie in ihn verliebt.

     I could have married him; yet I believe I was never really in love with him.

2. third-person singular preterite of sein

Luxembourgish war definition

Alternative forms

• wor

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːr/, [vaː], [vaːʀ]

Verb

war

1. first-person singular preterite indicative of sinn
2. third-person singular preterite indicative of sinn

Mpur war definition

Noun

war

1. water

References

• A Sketch of Mpur, in Languages of the Eastern Bird's Head (2002)

Northern Kurdish war definition

Etymology 1

Noun

war m

1. place
2. camp, camping ground

Etymology 2

Noun

war m

1. respect, regard

Old Gutnish war definition

Etymology

From Proto-Norse ᚹᚨᛊ (was), from Proto-Germanic *was, first/third-person singular indicative past of *wesaną.

Verb

war

1. first/third-person singular indicative past of wara

Old High German war definition

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *wār, from Proto-Germanic *wēraz, whence also Old English wǣr, Old Norse værr.

Adjective

wār

1. true

Derived terms

• wārsago
• wārseggo

Descendants

• Middle High German: wār
  • Cimbrian: baar
  • German: wahr
  • Hunsrik: woher
  • Luxembourgish: wouer
  • Yiddish: וואָר‎ (vor)

Old Saxon war definition

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *wār, from Proto-Germanic *wēraz, from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁ros.

Adjective

wār

1. true

Declension

Polish war definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /var/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ar
• Syllabification: war

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Polish war, from Proto-Slavic *varъ.

Noun

war m inan

1. (obsolete) boiling water or other liquid
2. (obsolete) extreme heat

Declension

Related terms

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

war m inan

1. var, volt-ampere reactive (unit of electrical power)

Declension

Further reading

• war in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• war in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Scots war definition

Etymology 1

From Middle English were, weren, from Old English wǣre, wǣron, wǣren, from Proto-Germanic *wēz-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-.

Verb

war

1. first/second/third-person plural simple past indicative of be; were

Etymology 2

From Middle English werre, from Old Northern French, ultimately a Frankish loan.

Noun

war (plural wars)

1. war

Alternative forms

• wer, weir

References

• “war” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

Somali war definition

Noun

war ?

1. news

   Wax war miyaa hey-sa? ― Do you have some news?

Tocharian B war definition

Etymology

From Proto-Tocharian *wär (whence Tocharian A wär), from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (“water”) through a regular (endocentric) thematicization via *udrom.

Noun

war ?

1. water

See also

• āp (“body of water, river, flood”)

Yola war definition

Alternative forms

• ware

Etymology

From Middle English were, from Old English wǣre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɔː/

Verb

war

1. were
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:

     A war cowdealeen wi ooree.

     They were scolding with one another.

Related terms

• waas
• wasth

References

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 32