warfare
UK /ˈwɔːfɛə/ · US /ˈwɔɹfɛɹ/ noun, verb
Forms warfares warfaring warfared
- noun The waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy.
- noun Military operations of some particular kind e.g. guerrilla warfare.
- verb To lead a military life; to carry on continual wars.
Synonyms
Etymology
From war + fare; perhaps a shortening of Middle English werre-faringe, werfarynge (“waging war, warfare”, literally “going to war”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Military service; military life; contest carried on by enemies; hostilities; war. The Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. I Sam. xxviii. 1.
- noun Contest; struggle.
- verb To lead a military life; to carry on continual wars. Camden.
Etymology [War + OE. fare a journey, a passage, course, AS. faru. See Fare, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “warfare”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details