Etymograph

English

bellicose

Bellicose comes from Latin bellicosus ‘warlike, fierce, bellicose’, from bellicus ‘of or pertaining to war’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- ‘to fit’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-1‘to fit’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dwenos1‘good’uncertain
  3. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEduenos1uncertain
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCE*duenelos1uncertain
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellum1uncertain
  6. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellicus1uncertain
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicus1‘of or pertaining to war’uncertain
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicum signum1uncertain
  9. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicum1
  10. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicosus1‘warlike, fierce, bellicose’
  11. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bellicose1
  12. Englishearliest quotation 1996bellicose1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bellicose
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1996, James Pringle, Peking sends out mixed signals: “CHINA sent both bellicose and conciliatory signals yesterday as…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-Wiktionary, English bellicose‘to fit’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dwenosWiktionary, English bellicose‘good’uncertain
  3. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEduenosWiktionary, English bellicoseuncertain
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCE*duenelosWiktionary, English bellicoseuncertain
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellumWiktionary, English bellicoseuncertain
  6. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellicusWiktionary, English bellicoseuncertain
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicusWiktionary, English bellicose‘of or pertaining to war’uncertain
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicum signumWiktionary, English bellicoseuncertain
  9. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicumWiktionary, English bellicose
  10. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellicosusWiktionary, English bellicose‘warlike, fierce, bellicose’
  11. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bellicoseWiktionary, English bellicose
  12. Englishearliest quotation 1996bellicoseWiktionary, English bellicose. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1996, James Pringle, Peking sends out mixed signals: “CHINA sent both bellicose and conciliatory signals yesterday as…”

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, benefice, beauteous, beaucoup, 34 more

through Archaic Latin duenos

ben, bonus, optimal, beneficial, bonnie, optimism, boon, 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

rebel, duel, revel, 16 more

Today it means

adj Warlike or combative in nature; aggressively hostile.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bellicose”. 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 *dewh₂- / bellicose

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