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WAR, hostility,
a contest between states by force of arms. (E.) M.E. werre
(dissyllabic), Chaucer, C. T. 47. It occurs in the A.S. Chron. an.
1119, where it is spelt wyrre, but a little further on, an. 1140, it is
spelt uuerre (= werre). But it occurs much earlier; we
find 'armorum oneribus, quod Angli war-scot dicunt' in the Laws of Cnut,
De Foresta, §
9; Thorpe, Anc. Laws, i. 427. Thus the word is English; though the
usual A.S. word is wíg; we also find hild, winn, gúð, &c.
But the derivatives warrior and warraye (to make war on, Spenser, F. Q. i. 5.
48), respecting which see below, are of F. origin. Cf. O.F. werre,
war (Burguy, Roquefort), whence mod. F. guerre; from O.H.G. werra, vexation,
strife, confusion, broil; cf. mod. G. verwirrung, confusion, disturbance, broil,
from the same root; O.H.G. wërren, to bring into confusion, entangle, embroil;
cf. mod. G. verwirren. + O. Du. werre, 'warre, or hostility,' Hexham; from
werren, also verwerren, 'to embroile, to entangle, to bring into confusion or
disorder;' id. β. The form of the base is WARS, later form WARR; and
the word is closely allied to Worse, q.v. Der.
war, verb, late A.S. werrien, A.S. Chron. an. 1135, formed from the sb.
werre. Also war-fare, properly 'a warlike expedition;' 'he was nat
in good poynt to ride a warfare,' i.e. on a warlike expedition. Berners, tr. of Froissart's
Chron. vol. ii. c. 13 (R.); see Fare. Also
war-like, K. John, v. 1.
71; warr-i-or, M.E. werreour, Rob. of Brunne, tr. of Langtoft, p. 166, l. 4,
from O.F. werreiur*, not recorded, old spelling of O.F. guerreiur (Burguy), a
warrior, one who makes war, formed with suffix -ur from O.F. werreier*,
guerreier, to make war, borrowed by E. and appearing as M.E. werreien or
werreyen, Chaucer, C. T. 1546, 10324, and in Spenser as warray or
warrey, F. Q.
i. 5. 48, ii. 10. 21; so that warrior is really a familiar form of warreyour;
cf. guerroyeur, 'a martialist, or warrior,' Cot., from guerroyer, 'to warre,'
id.
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