War, law & rule

guerrilla

A Frankish word for strife became Spanish guerra 'war'; Spaniards resisting Napoleon fought a guerrilla, a 'little war', and English took the word in 1809. The same Frankish word gave French guerre and English war, and 20th-century insurgencies made guerrilla global, down to Japanese gerira.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Frankish to Old French, Middle English

From Old French to French

From Frankish to Italian, Italian

From Spanish to Portuguese

From Spanish to French

From Spanish to German

From English to Japanese, Korean

From English to Turkish

500 CEFrankish

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

guerrilla

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The road to English

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