English
army
Army comes from Middle English armee, from Old French armee, from Medieval Latin armāta ‘armed force’, from Latin armō ‘to arm’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to join, fit together’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂(e)rmosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*armosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarma‘tools, arms’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmō‘to arm’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500armāta‘armed force’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400armee
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500armee
- Englishearliest quotation 1858army
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to join, fit together’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂(e)rmosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*armosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarma‘tools, arms’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmō‘to arm’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500armāta‘armed force’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400armee
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500armee
- Englishearliest quotation 1858army
Earliest quotation: 1858, Prince George: “An army never can be commanded or controlled by…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’
order, reason, ready, rate, article, art, artist, ratio, ordinary, coordination, coordinate, arm, alarm, harmony, subordinate, ordination, arthritis, articulate, ornament, anarchy, arithmetic, ornate, inertia, inert, aristocratic, adorn, artisan, ordinate, articulation, harmonic, ordinator, harmonious, ordinal, rta, rime, ordain, ordo, artifice, harmonize, archon, 76 more
through Latin arma
through Latin armō ‘to furnish with weapons, arm, equip’
armor, armament, armada, armature, 3 more
through Latin armātus
Today it means
noun A large, highly organized military force, concerned mainly with ground (rather than air or naval) operations.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / army