army

Where does the word "army" come from? It comes from Latin arma, passing through Latin and Old French before entering English (1300s).

Army’s story begins in Latin: arma meant “weapons, arms.” The root of 'armor', 'armada' and 'alarm'. Within Latin, it grew into armata by ancient. An armed force, from arma. From there it passed into Old French as armee by medieval. Carried into French for a large organized body of armed troops. It reached English by 1300s as army. Settled as the English word for a large organized body of armed soldiers. Today, army means a large organized body of soldiers trained for land warfare.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient arma "weapons, arms", the root of 'armor', 'armada' and 'alarm'.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient armata "an armed force", an armed force, from arma.
3. Stage 3 · Old French · medieval armee "a large organized body of armed troops", carried into French for a large organized body of armed troops.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1300s army "a large organized body of armed soldiers", settled as the English word for a large organized body of armed soldiers.