Belligerent Doesn’t Mean Drunk

Some people, particularly younger folks, are adamant that the term belligerent means “drunk.” It’s a misanalysis of the word, perhaps associating being intoxicated with being ready to fight. Instead, belligerent derives from the Latin word bellum, meaning “war,” also found in bellicose, and the term applied to that period before a war, particularly the U.S. Civil war, antebellum. This is part of a complete episode.

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