Armies

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɑɹ.miz/

Definitions

1. Groups of soldiers organized for conflict that operate under a unified command structure
2. Large, coordinated military units that participate in warfare against a common enemy
3. Large bodies of troops organized under a single command to fight wars or defend a country

Etymology: The English word "army" arrived in the late 1300s, and it displaced two native Old English words, "here" and "fierd", which had covered the same ground for centuries. Its immediate source was Old French "armee", the feminine past participle of the verb "armer", meaning to arm, and it was borrowed in 1386 in the form that eventually settled into Middle English as "armee". Behind that verb lies Latin "arma", meaning tools or equipment, and eventually weapons. The Latin verb "armare" meant to equip someone for fighting, and medieval Latin turned its past participle "armata" into a noun meaning an armed force. A soldier was, in effect, a person equipped with gear, and an army was simply a body of people so equipped. The "armies" you wrote is the plural of this noun, so it simply means several such forces, and its history is that of "army" itself.

Synonyms: military, forces, troops, legions, battalions

Antonyms: peace, neutrality, calm, harmony, truce