belligerency

C2+ Topic:War & Conflict

US /bəˈlɪdʒərənsi/ UK /bɪˈlɪdʒərənsi/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the state of being at war or engaged in hostile conflict

The treaty formally ended decades of belligerency.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of being at war... hostility warfare aggressioncombativenesspugnacity

Opposites

peace neutrality amity

Word family

Related forms belligerent bellicose rebel

Etymology

From belligerent + -cy, from Latin belligerāns, from belligerāre ('to wage war'), from bellum ('war') + gerere ('to wage, carry on').

belligerāre Latin bellum Latin gerere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

War & Conflict Word Formation & Derivatives

# belligerency

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** bəˈlɪdʒərənsi
**IPA (UK):** bɪˈlɪdʒərənsi

## Meanings
1. the state of being at war or engaged in hostile conflict

## Examples
- The treaty formally ended decades of belligerency.

## Synonyms
- hostility
- warfare
- aggression
- combativeness
- pugnacity

## Antonyms
- peace
- neutrality
- amity

## Related Forms
- belligerent
- bellicose
- rebel

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: belligerāre
- Root: bellum
- Root: gerere

## Etymology
From belligerent + -cy, from Latin belligerāns, from belligerāre ('to wage war'), from bellum ('war') + gerere ('to wage, carry on').

## AI Etymology
Belligerency comes from belligerent + -cy, from Latin belligerāns, from belligerāre ('to wage war'), from bellum ('war') + gerere ('to wage, carry on'). The historical trail runs through belligerāre in Latin, bellum in Latin, and gerere in Latin. Morphologically, belligerency is transparent: it draws on belligerent + -cy, from Latin belligerāns, from belligerāre ('to wage war'), from bellum ('war') + gerere ('to wage, carry on'). Used as a noun, belligerency now means "the state of being at war or engaged in hostile conflict", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as belligerent, bellicose, and rebel. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- War & Conflict
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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