Etymograph

English

partisan

Partisan comes from French partisan ‘partisan, partial’, from Italian partigiano ‘defender of a party’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *partim ‘part’.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partim‘part’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartem
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentparte‘part’
  4. Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentpartigiano‘defender of a party’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentpartisan‘partisan, partial’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1992same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partim‘part’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartem
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentparte‘part’
  4. Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentpartigiano‘defender of a party’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentpartisan‘partisan, partial’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1992same form

Earliest quotation: 1992, Thomas R. Pegram: “Strong partisans of neither party, Indiana farmers failed to…”

The story

Attested in English from the late 15th century in the noun sense of "party adherent", and in related adjective senses from the 16th century. The "guerrilla fighter" sense influenced by Serbo-Croatian partizan, Russian партиза́н (partizán), from the same source. The sense of "guerrilla fighter" is from c. 1690.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to grant’

party, empire, experiment, expert, imperial, repair, preparation, parental, para, parcel, depart, parity, imperium, imperious, impart, pare, rampart, repartee, parter, 40 more

Another origin of partisan

  1. Italianc. 1300–presentparte‘group, faction’
  2. Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentpartigianoas partigiana
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600partizaine
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form
  5. Englishtodaypartisan

From French partizaine, from Middle French partizaine, partisanne etc., from Italian partigiana, related to Etymology 1 above (apparently because it was seen as a typical weapon of such forces).

Today it means

noun An adherent to a party or faction.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *partim / partisan

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