Etymograph

English

imbellic

Imbellic comes from Latin imbellis ‘unwarlike’, from bellum ‘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’reconstructed
  3. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEduenos1
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCE*duenelos1uncertain
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellum1
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellum2‘war’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -is3
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimbellis2‘unwarlike’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1673imbellic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin bellum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English imbellic
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin imbellis
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1673, Joseph Hill: “the imbellick Bores”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-Wiktionary, Latin bellum‘to fit’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dwenosWiktionary, Latin bellum‘good’reconstructed
  3. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEduenosWiktionary, Latin bellum
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCE*duenelosWiktionary, Latin bellumuncertain
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellumWiktionary, Latin bellum
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellumWiktionary, English imbellic‘war’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -isWiktionary, Latin imbellis
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimbellisWiktionary, English imbellic‘unwarlike’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1673imbellicWiktionary, English imbellic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1673, Joseph Hill: “the imbellick Bores”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- ‘to fit’

down, town, tool, teen, dynamic, dynasty, tow, dun, dynamo, tine, dynastic, taw, 90 more

through Proto-Italic *dwenos ‘good’

bona, beaucoup, beauteous, benefice, 33 more

through Archaic Latin duenos

bonus, ben, beneficial, optimal, bonnie, optimism, boon, beneficiary, bonny, bene, bonbon, 33 more

through Old Latin *duenelos

beautiful, beauty, boo, beau, beal, bello, bauble, 15 more

through Old Latin duellum

duel, rebellion, rebellious, rebelling, bellicose, 12 more

through Latin bellum ‘war’

rebel, revel, belligerent, 11 more

through Latin in- -is

inform, immune, immunity, insomnia, impunity, indemnity, 7 more

Today it means

adj Not warlike or martial.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “imbellic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin bellum, Latin imbellis. 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- / imbellic

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