Etymograph

English

parabellum

Parabellum comes from Latin parā bellum ‘furnish war’, from Proto-Italic *dwenos ‘good’, 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‘if you want peace, prepare for war’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparā bellum2‘furnish war’
  8. Englishtodayparabellum2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin bellum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English parabellum

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 parabellum‘if you want peace, prepare for war’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparā bellumWiktionary, English parabellum‘furnish war’
  8. EnglishtodayparabellumWiktionary, English parabellum

Linked words

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

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

through Proto-Italic *dwenos ‘good’

bona, benefice, beaucoup, beauteous, 33 more

through Archaic Latin duenos

ben, bonus, 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

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

through Latin bellum ‘if you want peace, prepare for war’

rebel, revel, belligerent, 11 more

Today it means

noun A type of cartridge used in some handguns.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “parabellum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin bellum. 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- / parabellum

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