Well, as far as warlord goes, I’m pretty sure it’s not Chinese. The two parts of the word, "war" and "lord" (it seems, unless I’m very mistaken, to be a composite word), both have Germanic and Indo-European roots.
As far as war goes, it comes from Old French werre which comes from Old German, coming from Indo-European (something like wer).
As an interesting side note, modern French for war is guerre, coming from the Old French werre. This word gives us "guerrilla" (from Spanish guerrilla). The change from the German "w" to the French "gu" can be seen in other words, even names like German "Wilhem" (William) to French "Guillaume" (Spanish Guillermo). The words guide, guise, and guile also follow this change from "w" to "gu."
Hmmm… I thought I posted to this last week, but I don’t see my post here!
The concept of warlord came to us in English from Japanese, shogun. A shogun, according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, was "one of a line of military governors ruling Japan until the revolution of 1867-68".
So, while it is true that the term warlord is definitely English (and a compound noun at that!), but the concept of it came to us from another culture.
[quote author=Eric/turbidum link=board=etymology;num=1028667285;start=0#2 date=08/07/02 at 01:52:03]As far as war goes, it comes from Old French werre which comes from Old German, coming from Indo-European (something like wer).
Didn’t wer also become an English word meaning male or man, corresponding to wif->wife and also seen in werewolf or man-wolf? At their roots, are man and war related?
The two words seems to be of different origin. This is what the Duden Etymology of the German Language says:
Werwolf:wer is the germanic noun wer (old high german), wair (gothic), wer (old english), verr (old islandic) meaning "man, human", which is also the origin of the first part of "world". It is related to virah (old indian, "man, hero"), vir (latin, "man"—as in virtuoso) and vyras (lithuanian, "man"). The word "man" goes back to the indo-european root *manu or *monu.
War is related to the German word "verwirren", which means "to confuse" or "to tangle". "Verwirren" is a derivation of the obsolete verb wirren, werren (middle high german), werran (old high german), meaning "entangle, mix up, confuse". This developed from the indo-european root *uer (also related to "worm", "wurst", "wring", etc). One derivation of "wirren" is the noun commonly used into the 16th century werre (middle high german), werra (old high german), meaning "war, confusion".
Also of interest is the origin of the word "Wehrmacht" (armed forces). It is based on the word "wehren" (to defend), which is derived from the root *uer, along the following progression of meanings: "to wattle, with a wattled fence, surrounded by a fence", to "to close, cover, protect", and on to "to watch over, monitor, look out".
Another descendant of the Old English wer is the name of the poison wormwood. Its old name is wermod, and (like many poisons) it was taken in small doses as a tonic: hence wer-mod, meaning "man-courage"; the mod is still with us, with an altered meaning, as mood.
Nothing at all to do with worms.
[quote author=granthutchison link=board=etymology;num=1028667285;start=0#6 date=09/30/02 at 11:18:45]Another descendant of the Old English wer is the name of the poison wormwood.
I’ll drink (vermouth) to that!
Interestingly, the AHD traces both wormwood and vermouth back to Germanic wer(i)moda, wer-mod and wor-mod- but provides no meaning for those words or further attestation.
[quote author=Agoraphile link=board=etymology;num=1028667285;start=0#7 date=09/30/02 at 13:53:02]
I’ll drink (vermouth) to that!
travelling in France last Fall, I noticed that wormwood liquor is back on the shelves. The absinthe has made a comeback :-* 8) (in different proportions that in the last century). Santé!
[quote author=Agoraphile link=board=etymology;num=1028667285;start=0#7 date=09/30/02 at 13:53:02]I’ll drink (vermouth) to that!
The Greek name of the wormwood plant was apsinthion, which is where the French got absinthe - both the word and the drink. If you soak wormwood in 85% alcohol it releases, among other things, absinthin which causes the bitter taste; chlorophyll, which gives absinthe its green colour; and thujone, a central nervous system stimulant that also kills nerve cells. Dilute the alcohol by adding water, and some of these solutes drop out of solution, and turn the drink cloudy in the traditional way.
But if you soak the wormwood in white wine (<15% alcohol), you get the bitterness without the poisonous side effects. That drink, vermouth , got its name from the Germanic rather than Latinate line of descent, as you say.
[quote author=granthutchison link=board=etymology;num=1028667285;start=0#9 date=09/30/02 at 14:18:35]
... a central nervous system stimulant that also kills nerve cells…wormwood in white wine
[quote author=granthutchison link=board=etymology;num=1028667285;start=0#11 date=09/30/02 at 18:20:45]
Which bit pleased you? The brain damage, or the brain-damage avoidance? ;)
There’s another interesting use of the word war in warlock. I thought of this reading the other thread about witches and sorcerers.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, it seems to comes from a different root than either warlord or werwolf.
War in this case is derived from waer (Old English, "faith, pledge"), which came from wera (Germanic). This seems to be related to the Latin verus, meaning "true".
Lock is from leogan (Old English, "to lie", similar to lügen in German), making the warlock an oath-breaker.
(in different proportions that in the last century). Santé!