English

Opium War

opium + war.

A compound of opium + war

Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós ‘juice, resin’

Latin opium ‘opium, poppy-juice’

English opium

Proto-Indo-European *wers- ‘to mix up, confuse’

…

Medieval Latin werra

Old Northern French werre

Old English werre ‘armed conflict’

Middle English werre

English war

Today it means

name The First Opium War or the Second Opium War, two Anglo-Chinese wars relating to opium trade in the mid-19th century.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Opium War