Etymograph

English

army

Army comes from Middle English armee, from Old French armee, from Medieval Latin armāta ‘armed force’, from Latin armō ‘to arm’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-1‘to join, fit together’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂(e)rmos1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*armos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarma1‘tools, arms’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmō1‘to arm’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500armāta1‘armed force’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400armee1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500armee1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1858army1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English army
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1858, Prince George: “An army never can be commanded or controlled by…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-Wiktionary, English army‘to join, fit together’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂(e)rmosWiktionary, English armyreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*armosWiktionary, English armyreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmaWiktionary, English army‘tools, arms’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmōWiktionary, English army‘to arm’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500armātaWiktionary, English army‘armed force’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400armeeWiktionary, English army
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500armeeWiktionary, English army
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1858armyWiktionary, English army. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1858, Prince George: “An army never can be commanded or controlled by…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with army, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’

  • order ← ordre ← ordne ← ōrdinem ← *ordō
  • reason ← resoun ← raisun ← ratiō ← ratus
  • ready ← redy
  • rate ← rata ← prō ratā parte ← ratus ← reor
  • article ← articulus ← artus ← *h₂értus
  • art ← artem ← ars ← *artis ← *h₂értis
  • artist ← artiste ← artista ← ars ← *artis
  • ratio ← reor
  • ordinary ← ordenarie ← ordinaire ← ordinarius ← ōrdō
  • coordination ← coōrdinātiōnem ← ōrdinātiō ← ōrdinō ← ōrdō
  • coordinate ← coōrdinātus ← ōrdinō ← ōrdō ← *ordō
  • arm ← earm ← *armaz ← *h₂érmos

121 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A large, highly organized military force, concerned mainly with ground (rather than air or naval) operations.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “army”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / army