English
bellicism
Bellicism comes from Latin bellicus ‘of or pertaining to war’, and goes back to Old Latin duellum.
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellum1
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellicus1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicus2as bellic(us)‘of or pertaining to war’
- Englishearliest quotation 1962bellicism2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin bellicus
- 2 Wiktionary, English bellicism
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1962, Michael Howard, The Causes of Wars: “One cannot understand the causes of the First World…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellumWiktionary, Latin bellicus
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellicusWiktionary, Latin bellicus
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicusWiktionary, English bellicismas bellic(us)‘of or pertaining to war’
- Englishearliest quotation 1962bellicismWiktionary, English bellicism. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1962, Michael Howard, The Causes of Wars: “One cannot understand the causes of the First World…”
Formed from ism
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- ‘to fit’
down, town, tool, teen, dynamic, dynasty, tow, dun, dynamo, tine, dynastic, taw, 91 more
through Proto-Italic *dwenos ‘good’
bona, beaucoup, benefice, beauteous, 34 more
through Archaic Latin duenos
ben, bonus, optimal, bonnie, beneficial, boon, optimism, beneficiary, bonny, bene, bonbon, 34 more
through Old Latin *duenelos
beautiful, beauty, boo, beau, rebellion, rebellious, beal, bello, bauble, rebelling, 16 more
through Old Latin duellum
Today it means
noun An inclination to war; warlike policy or behaviour.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “bellicism”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin bellicus. 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 / Old Latin duellum / bellicism