Ceasefires

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A temporary halt to hostilities between warring parties or factions, allowing for negotiations or humanitarian efforts to take place
2. An agreed suspension of fighting that can facilitate dialogue, cease combat operations, or provide aid to affected populations
3. An official or informal break in conflict, where combat is paused to enable peace discussions or deliver assistance to those in need

Etymology: A ceasefire is a compound of two plain English words, "cease" and "fire," joined to mean a halt in the shooting. "Cease" came into English through Middle French "cesser" from Latin "cessare," a frequentative of "cedere," meaning "to go" or "to yield," which gave the sense of stopping or giving way. "Fire" is an old native English word, so the whole term is a mix of borrowed and inherited parts. The word's first element therefore carries a sense of yielding or withdrawing, while the second names the weapons whose noise it silences. Its plural, "ceasefires," is simply the regular plural of the noun, used when there is more than one such truce, often in separate conflicts or stages of a single one.

Synonyms: truce, armistice

Antonyms: war