War in 104 Different Languages
Each word includes its etymology, if available, from Wikitionary
Afrikaans:
oorlog: From Dutch ‘oorlog’. From Middle Dutch orloge, from Old Dutch *urlage. In this word, two Germanic words merged, both having the prefix ur- (modern Dutch oor and oer, with the former kept in compounds like oorzaak (“cause, driver”) and oorsprong (“origin”), and the latter borrowed from German). The first word was derived from Proto-Germanic *uzlagą (“fate, destiny”), with *laga- related to modern Dutch leggen (“to lay”). The second word was derived from Proto-Germanic *uzleugō (“war”), with *leugō meaning “oath” (see also Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰 (liuga) and Old Irish lugae). Cognate to Old Saxon orlagi, Middle Low German orloch, Old High German urliugi and urlag, Old Frisian orloch, West Frisian oarloch, Old English orlæg, Old Norse ørlög and ørlygi.
Albanian:
luftë: Borrowed through Vulgar Latin from Late Latin lucta, from Latin luctor; cognate with Romanian luptă, Aromanian ljuftã, Spanish lucha.
Amharic:
ጦርነት: N/A
Arabic:
حرب: From the root ح ر ب (ḥ-r-b), from Proto-Semitic *x̣arb-. Cognate with Hebrew חֶרֶב (ḥéreḇ, “sword”). AND From Proto-Semitic *x̣arb-. Feminine because it meant a tool in Proto-Semitic, namely a blade.
Armenian:
պատերազմ: Learned borrowing from Old Armenian պատերազմ (paterazm) AND in Old Armenian, An Iranian borrowing: compare Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (pʾtlcm /pādrazm/, “battle”). The second part is related to ռազմ (ṙazm).
Azerbaijani:
müharibə: Ultimately from Arabic مُحَارَبَة (muḥāraba). Compare Turkish muharebe.
Basque:
gerra: From Late Latin *werra, *guerra.
Belarusian:
вайны: From Proto-Uralic *wixe-.
Bengali:
যুদ্ধ: Borrowed from Sanskrit युद्ध (yuddha).
Bosnian:
rata: N/A
Bulgarian:
война: From Proto-Slavic *vojьna (“war”), from *vojьnъ, from *vojь (“soldier”) + *-ьnъ.
Catalan:
guerra: From Old Catalan guerra~gerra, from Vulgar Latin *werra, borrowed from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”).
Cebuano:
gubat: N/A
Chinese (Simplified):
战争: N/A
Chinese (Traditional):
戰爭: N/A
Corsican:
guerra: N/A
Croatian:
rat: From Proto-Slavic *ortь, from the o-grade of Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to rise, to attack”), cognate to Ancient Greek ἔρις (éris, “quarrel, strife”), Sanskrit ऋति (ṛti, “assault”) and Proto-Germanic *ernustuz (“struggle, fight”).
Czech:
válka: From Old Czech válka. Compare Polish walka (“combat, fight, struggle”).
Danish:
krig: Borrowed from Middle Low German krîch.
Dutch:
oorlog: From Middle Dutch orloge, from Old Dutch *urlage. In this word, two Germanic words merged, both having the prefix ur- (modern Dutch oor and oer, with the former kept in compounds like oorzaak (“cause, driver”) and oorsprong (“origin”), and the latter borrowed from German). The first word was derived from Proto-Germanic *uzlagą (“fate, destiny”), with *laga- related to modern Dutch leggen (“to lay”). The second word was derived from Proto-Germanic *uzleugō (“war”), with *leugō meaning “oath” (see also Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰 (liuga) and Old Irish lugae). Cognate to Old Saxon orlagi, Middle Low German orloch, Old High German urliugi and urlag, Old Frisian orloch, West Frisian oarloch, Old English orlæg, Old Norse ørlög and ørlygi.
Esperanto:
Estonian:
sõda: From Proto-Finnic *sota. Cognate with Finnish sota.
Finnish:
sota: From Proto-Finnic *sota, from Proto-Uralic *śoďa. Cognate with Estonian sõda, Võro sõda, Inari Sami soati, Northern Sami soahti, Livonian soda, and Veps soda. Related to Erzya сюдомс (sjudoms, “to curse”).
French:
guerre: From Middle French guerre (“war”) from Old French guerre, guere (“armed conflict between individuals or states, enmity, strife between individuals”) (compare Old Northern French werre) from Medieval Latin werra, borrowed from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wers- (“to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh”).
Akin to English war, Old High German werra (“confusion, strife, quarrel”) (German verwirren (“to confuse”)), Old Saxon werran (“to confuse, perplex”), Dutch war (“confusion, disarray”), Old English wyrsa, wiersa (“worse”). More at worse, wurst.
Frisian:
oarloch: From Old Frisian orloch, from Proto-Germanic *uzlagą.
Galician:
guerra: From Medieval Latin werra, borrowed from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”).
Georgian:
ომი: From Old Georgian ჰომი (homi) (attested as მეჰომე (mehome)), from Proto-Georgian-Zan *om-. Cognate with Mingrelian ლიმა (lima).
German:
Krieg: From Middle High German kriec, from Old High German krig, from Proto-West Germanic *krīg.
Greek:
πόλεμος: According to Beekes, of Pre-Greek origin.
However, the word has been connected to πάλλω (pállō, “to poise, sway, brandish”), πελεμίζω (pelemízō, “to shake, cause to quiver or tremble, struggle at the bow, in order to bend it”) and perhaps ψάλλω (psállō, “to pluck, twitch a string with the fingers; to sing to a harp, chant praises”), all possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to beat, push, drive”).
Compare Latin pello (“to push, drive, strike; to rout, conquer, defeat; to strike a chord; to touch, move”) and palpo (“to touch softly, stroke, pat, caress”), English feel, Ancient Greek πλήσσω (plḗssō, “to strike, smite”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌼𐌰 (usfilma, “terrified, appalled”), 𐌿𐍃𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌼𐌴𐌹 (usfilmei, “fright, horror, dismay”) – quasi analogies to ἐκπλήσσω (ekplḗssō) –, and Russian полох (polox, “fear, fright”).
Gujarati:
યુદ્ધ: Borrowed from Sanskrit युद्ध (yuddhá).
Haitian Creole:
lagè: N/A
Hausa:
yaƙi: N/A
Hawaiian:
kaua: From Proto-Polynesian *tau‘a.
Hebrew:
מִלחָמָה: From the root ל־ח־ם.
Hindi:
युद्ध: Borrowed from Sanskrit युद्ध (yuddhá). Doublet of जूझ (jūjh).
Hmong:
tsov rog: N/A
Hungarian:
háború: N/A
Icelandic:
stríð: From Proto-Germanic *strīdaz.
Igbo:
agha: From Ottoman Turkish آغا (aghā, agha) (Turkish ağa).
Indonesian:
Irish:
cogadh: From Old Irish cocad (“war, conflict; act of waging war”). Synchronically analyzable as cog + -adh, but historically the verb is a back-formation from the noun.
Italian:
guerra: From Old Italian guerra, from Medieval Latin werra, borrowed from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”).
Japanese:
戦争: N/A
Javanese:
perang: N/A
Kannada:
ಯುದ್ಧ: Borrowed from Sanskrit युद्ध (yuddha).
Kazakh:
соғыс: From *soquš (“war”), from Proto-Turkic *sok- (“to hit, to beat”). Cognate with Tatar сугыш (suğış, “war”), Bashkir һуғыш (huğïš, “war”), Kyrgyz согуш (soğuş, “war, battle”), Southern Altai согыш (sogïš, “fighting; battle; war”), Shor соғуш (“fighting, battle”), etc.
Khmer:
សង្គ្រាម: From Sanskrit संग्राम (saṃgrāma). Compare Thai สงคราม (sǒng-kraam), Lao ສົງຄາມ (song khām).
Korean:
전쟁: Sino-Korean word from 戰爭 (“war”).
Kurdish:
şerr: N/A
Kyrgyz:
согуш: From *soquš (“war”), from Proto-Turkic *sok- (“to hit, to beat”). Cognate with Turkish savaş (“war”), Kazakh соғыс (soğıs), and Tatar сугыш (suğış).
Lao:
ສົງຄາມ: From Pali saṅgāma, from Sanskrit संग्राम (saṃgrāmá). Compare Thai สงคราม (sǒng-kraam).
Latin:
bellum: From older form duellum; compare the change from duis to bis. AND Inflection of bellus (“pretty”).
Latvian:
karš: From Proto-Baltic *karyas, from Proto-Indo-European *koryos, from *ker-. Cognates include Lithuanian kãras, dialectal kãrias, Old Prussian kargis ([karjis], “troops, army”) (misspelled as kragis in the 16th-century text), karyago (“travels”) (i.e., “war path”), Middle Irish cuire (“army; troops”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌹𐍃 (harjis), Old Norse herr, German Heer (“army”), Ancient Greek κοίρανος (koíranos, “leader, commander”) (< *koiros < *koryos).
Lithuanian:
karas: From Proto-Indo-European *kóryos (“war, troops”), from the root *ker-.
Luxembourgish:
Krich: From Middle High German kriec, from Old High German krig. The plural Kricher is secondarily derived from the singular. (The expected form would be *Kréi.).
Macedonian:
војна: From Proto-Slavic *vojьna.
Malagasy:
ADY: N/A
Malay:
perang: N/A
Malayalam:
യുദ്ധം: N/A
Maltese:
gwerra: From Sicilian guerra and/or Italian guerra.
Maori:
pakanga: From paka (“quarrel”) + -nga.
Marathi:
युद्ध: N/A
Mongolian:
дайн: From Proto-Mongolic *dayin.
Myanmar (Burmese):
စစ်: N/A
Nepali:
युद्ध: N/A
Norwegian:
krig: From Middle Low German krîch (“battle, quarrel, war; dispute”), from Old Saxon *krīg, from Proto-West Germanic *krīg (“strife, struggle, fight”), possibly from *krīgan (“to strive, struggle”), from Proto-Germanic *krīganą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʷrihg(ʰ)-o-, a form of *gʷréh₂us (“heavy”), from *gʷreh₂- (“heavy”) + *-us (“forms adjectives”).
Nyanja (Chichewa):
nkhondo: N/A
Pashto:
جګړه: From Hindi झगड़ा (jhagṛā).
Persian:
جنگ: From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (yng), 𐫋𐫗𐫗𐫃 (jnng /ǰang/, “struggle, fight”)). AND From Hindi जंग (jaṅg) or Malay jong.
Polish:
wojna: Inherited from Proto-Slavic *vojьna. Compare Slovak vojna (“war”), Czech vojna (“military service”).
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil):
guerra: From Old Portuguese guerra, Medieval Latin werra, borrowed from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”).
Punjabi:
ਜੰਗ: Borrowed from Persian جنگ (jang), from Middle Persian 𐫋𐫗𐫗𐫃 (yng /ǰang/).
Romanian:
război: Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic разбои (razboi), from Proto-Slavic *orzbojь. Compare Serbo-Croatian razboj (“warfare, combat”), Russian разбой (razboj, “robbery”). Cf. also Aromanian arãzboi.
Russian:
война: Inherited from Old East Slavic воина (voina), from Proto-Slavic *vojьna (“war”), from *vojьnъ, from *vojь (“soldier”) + *-ьnъ.
Samoan:
taua: N/A
Scots Gaelic:
cogadh: From Old Irish cocad (“war, conflict; act of waging war”).
Serbian:
рата: N/A
Sesotho:
ntoa: N/A
Shona:
hondo: N/A
Sindhi:
جنگ: N/A
Sinhala (Sinhalese):
යුද්ධය: N/A
Slovak:
vojna: From Proto-Slavic *vojьna. Equivalent to voj (military formation) + -na. Compare Polish wojna (“war”), Czech vojna (“military service”).
Slovenian:
vojna: From Proto-Slavic *vojьna.
Somali:
dagaal: N/A
Spanish:
guerra: From Old Spanish guerra, from Medieval Latin werra, Vulgar Latin *werra, borrowed from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”).
Sundanese:
perang: N/A
Swahili:
vita: N/A
Swedish:
krig: Borrowed from Middle Low German krîch.
Tagalog (Filipino):
giyera: Borrowed from Spanish guerra. The insertion of /j/ remains unexplained.
Tajik:
ҷанг: From Persian جنگ (jang).
Tamil:
போர்: Cognates with Telugu పోరు (pōru).
Telugu:
యుద్ధం: N/A
Thai:
สงคราม: From Sanskrit संग्राम (saṃgrāma). Compare Lao ສົງຄາມ (song khām), Khmer សង្គ្រាម (sɑngkriəm).
Turkish:
savaş: From Proto-Turkic *saba- (“to beat, hit, fight”). Cognate with Turkish savaş (“war”), Uzbek savashmoq (“to fight”), etc.
Ukrainian:
війни: N/A
Urdu:
جنگ: Borrowed from Persian جنگ (jang). AND From Sanskrit युज् (yuj).
Uzbek:
urush: N/A
Vietnamese:
chiến tranh: Sino-Vietnamese word from 戰爭 (“war”).
Welsh:
Rhyfel: From Old Welsh [Term?], from Latin rebellis (“making war anew”), from rebello (“to wage war”).
Xhosa:
imfazwe: From in- + -fa + ilizwe.
Yiddish:
מלחמה: From the root ל־ח־ם.
Yoruba:
ogun: Proposed to have derived from Proto-Yoruboid *ógwũ. Cognates include Ifè ogu, Igala ógwu, and Ulukwumi ogun. AND Proposed to have derived from Proto-Yoruboid *ōgwṵ́. Cognates include Ifè ogú, Igala ógwú, Isekiri ogun, and Ulukwumi ọgbọ. AND Cognates include Ifè ogú and Igala ógwú.
Zulu:
impi: N/A
English:
war: From Middle English werre, from Late Old English werre, wyrre (“armed conflict”) from Old Northern French werre (compare Old French guerre, whence modern French guerre), from Medieval Latin werra, from Frankish *werru (“confusion; quarrel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wers- (“to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh”). Displaced native Old English ġewinn.
Akin to Old High German werra (“confusion, strife, quarrel”) and German verwirren (“to confuse”), Old Saxon werran (“to confuse, perplex”), Dutch war (“confusion, disarray”), West Frisian war (“defense, self-defense, struggle", also "confusion”), Old English wyrsa, wiersa (“worse”), Old Norse verri (“worse, orig. confounded, mixed up”). There may be a connection with worse and wurst.