Wartime

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈwɔː(ɹ)taɪm/

Definitions

1. The period during which a country or group is actively engaged in armed conflict or war
2. A period when a nation or organization is actively engaged in armed military conflict
3. The duration spanning from the outbreak of armed conflict until its cessation or peace agreement

Etymology: "Wartime" is a plain compound, built from "war" and "time," and its history is largely the history of its two parts. "War" traces back through Old French "guerre," borrowed from a Frankish word, and reached English as Old English "werre" and Middle English "werre." "Time" comes down from Old English "tīma," a word that has been in the language since its earliest recorded stages. Putting the two together produced a word for a period defined by armed conflict rather than by the calendar. The sense of a span of time marked by fighting, running from the outbreak of hostilities until a ceasefire or peace agreement, is simply what the parts already mean when joined. Its use as an adjective, as in "wartime rationing," follows the same pattern, with the noun modifying another noun.

Synonyms: conflict, battle

Antonyms: peacetime